VietJet first female co-pilot is Filipino

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VietJet first female co-pilot is Filipino
Antonette Ortiz Parocha accompanied a friend to the airline but ended up getting the job instead

MANILA, Philippines – Low-cost carrier VietJet Air, the first privately owned, new-age airline of Vietnam established in 2011, has a first female co-pilot – a Filipino.

She is Antonette Ortiz Parocha, from Cantilan, Surigao del Sur, a graduate of Patts College of Aeronautics in 2001 and Flight School International in 2005.

Parocha paid a courtersy call on Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Director General William K. Hotchkiss lll at his office Thursday, October 8, after submitting her application at the licensing office. This is a requirement before taking her Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL).

ATPL is the highest-level pilot license that allows the license holder to fly professionally as a pilot in command of multi-crew aircraft with any commercial airline company. CAAP said it categorizes certified pilots under 4 categories: Student Pilot license (SPL), Private Pilot License (PPL), CPL, and ATPL.

The minimum flying hours required to be ATPL-certified is 1,500 flying hours. Parocha has already logged over 5,000 flying hours.

COURTESY CALL. Parocha pays a courtesy call to Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Director General William K. Hotchkiss lll at his office Thursday, October 8, after submitting her application at the licensing office before she can take her Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL). Photo from CAAP

An accidental pilot

Parocha, a co-pilot of VietJet Air (which flies domestic and regional routes with 24 aircraft on its fleet and flies to 33 destinations), has been commercially flying for the last 1.5 years and flies regularly to China, Korea, Thailand, Myanmar, Singapore, and domestic flight to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, and Danang.

Parocha said she accompanied a friend who applied with VietJet but but she was instead the one hired by the airline. She hopes to pass her ATPL exam this month.

As of the first quarter of 2015, records from CAAP showed that there are 25 certified aviatrixes operating planes across the country.

Percentage-wise, the number of certified aviatrixes is still small at less than 2%, but the number is steadily growing, said Captain Beda Badiola, CAAP assistant director general-Flight Standard Inspectorate Service (FSIS).

There are a lot of female aircraft commanders now in PAL, Cebu Pacific, and even in the other airlines,” CAAP earlier noted. (READ: PH female pilots: Small in number but steadily growing)

In March, AirAsia resumed its Manila-Davao route with an all-female flight and cabin crew in celebration of Women’s Month. (READ: All women flight crew fly AirAsia’s Manila-Davao route) – Rappler.com

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