Virgin Atlantic's Flight School returns

Virgin Atlantic’s Flight School has returned, showcasing some of the amazing women who work for the airline.

Virgin Atlantic started Flight School during the coronavirus lockdown in the spring, a programme to help out parents who were homeschooling. This time around, the focus is on women in aviation.

Kicking off the second season of Flight School, senior first officer Zoe Franklin shared her passion for aviation. She explained how she learnt to fly in New Zealand after attending university and the incredible experiences she has had in the 13 years she has worked for Virgin Atlantic.

Next up was Kathy Johnson, a certifying engineer for Virgin Atlantic. Having grown up surrounded by airline employees and with her grandfather and father both aircraft engineers, it was almost inevitable that Kathy would end up working in aviation. But aviation has always been something that she associated with happy childhood memories so she loves getting to work with aircraft every day.

Lesson eight came from cargo operations director Tanya Boyes. She’s responsible for looking after everything that’s sitting in the cargo belly of an aircraft, underneath all the passengers. She explained how busy the cargo operations have been during the COVID-19 pandemic, transporting essential items around the world.

Sorcha Didier, business resilience manager, also works as a pilot for Virgin Atlantic. She shared how she started her aviation journey at 17, having previously had no interest in the industry. 

The final Flight School lesson was delivered by Rikke Christiansen, vice president of networks, alliances and commercial planning. She explained how an airline plans its flights and destinations, the challenges of being the only woman in the room, and why she thinks she’s got the coolest job in the world.

Virgin Atlantic also announced its rapid pre-departure COVID-19 testing for passengers travelling between London Heathrow and Hong Kong.

Visit Virgin Atlantic to find out more.