SWISS rosters all-female crew to Gothenburg to mark International Women’s Day
SWISS is setting a strong example of diversity and equal opportunities within the aviation sector to mark this year’s International Women’s Day on Saturday 8 March. The day’s SWISS services from Zurich to Gothenburg and back will have an all-female cockpit and cabin crew providing their passengers with a safe and enjoyable flight. On the ground, too, SWISS’s partner companies will be intentionally assigning female personnel to handle the flights concerned.
Travelers on SWISS’s LX 1226 and LX 1227 services between Zurich and Gothenburg tomorrow (Saturday 8 March) are in for a slight surprise: to mark this year’s International Women’s Day, the services will have an all-female crew in both the cockpit and the cabin ensuring that their guests enjoy a safe and pleasant flight.
On the ground, too, SWISS’s industry partners in Zurich and Gothenburg will be assigning female staff as much as possible to handle the flights concerned – loading and unloading the aircraft, for instance, or driving the pushback tractor.
In rostering such an unusual crew, Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) is helping to mark this year’s International Women’s Day by raising the visibility of women within the aviation sector. The company is hoping, too, to encourage more women to consider a career in the air transport field.
The numbers today
Women presently make up just over five per cent of SWISS’s cockpit crew corps. The proportion is rising, though: 13 per cent of the students currently undergoing their pilot training are female, which is a pleasing development. At SWISS’s TechOps division, women presently account for just under eight per cent of the workforce. But in this traditionally male preserve, too, the numbers of female employees are encouragingly growing.
SWISS is taking active steps to promote these trends and persuade even more women to seek an aviation career. Its actions to this end include conducting events aimed specifically at a female audience at which women pilots, for instance, will present and explain their profession and working lives to interested attendees and answer their questions.
Diversity: a key success factor
In operating these all-female-crew flights on International Women’s Day, SWISS is both setting an example and sending a message. “We’re convinced at our company that diversity is vital to success, promotes innovation and benefits team dynamics,” says SWISS Head of Human Resources Christina Trelle. “Women have a firm place in aviation – in every aspect thereof. And by rostering this special flight rotation, we’re shining a light on the role they play, and we’re showing that the paths to our cockpits, our technical services and the world of our ground handling partners are open to all. Our aim is not just to encourage more women to join our industry: it’s to create a general working environment in which it’s talent, passion and performance that count, whichever gender you may be.”
Reporting and photos
SWISS will be reporting on and from Saturday’s special flights with its all-female crew via its social media channels. And after the arrival of flight LX 1227 from Gothenburg back in Zurich (which is scheduled for 21:25), photos will be available in our Newsroom.