A 25-year-old Pilot at Fiji Airways, Cassandra Robinson was inspired to follow this path as both her parents were in the aviation field.

She has worked as a Second Officer on the Airbus A330 for four years.

Ms Robinson explains her journey as a pilot started in 2014 at Advanced Aviation Training.

“I completed my training in 2016 and then acquired my Ground Instructor Certificate,” she said.

“I assisted with tutoring students at Advanced Aviation Training while waiting for job opportunities.”

“In 2018 I was privileged to have joined Fiji Airways as a Second Officer.”

She said working in a male dominated field came with a few challenges.

“However, I’ve been blessed that Fiji Airways is a lot more advanced in terms of gender equality.”

“Fortunately most senior colleagues have been supportive and have provided mentoring that has helped me grow,” she said.

Ms Robinson also said challenges faced as a pilot had been adjusting to different time zones, quarterly sim checks which require a lot of preparation and adjusting behaviors to align more with masculine traits.

“I am able to adapt to these challenges with good rest, an active lifestyle, adhering to a timetable and finding common discussion topics with my colleagues,” she added.

“Second officers are cruise relief pilots that are allowed to be at the controls of an aircraft above 20,000 feet.”

“We are active members of the flight crew that assist the Captain and First officer.”

There are total of 120 pilots at Fiji Airways and seven of them are females and all local female pilots.

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