It’s not often that sisters get the chance to share the same airliner cockpit, but on a recent JetBlue flight from Florida to Washington a pilot-sibling Airbus A320 captain and first officer created a notable pairing intended to inspire more women to fly.
Pia and Anna-Maria Kymalainen, sisters from Finland from who joined JetBlue after careers flying corporate jets, recently piloted Flight 1480 from Fort Lauderdale to Washington Dulles as a JetBlue Foundation initiative, an effort to get children interested in aviation early on. It was the first time sisters have ever piloted a JetBlue airplane.
Pia began her aviation career flying freight and business jets before joining JetBlue nine years ago. Anna-Maria followed her big sister’s lead, flying corporate jets and then coming to JetBlue three years ago.
“We love to see women like Pia and Anna-Maria showing young women that there are opportunities for them across all aspects of the aviation industry,” said JetBlue on its Foundation blog.
Created last year, the JetBlue Foundation encourages careers in aviation, specifically among underserved communities including women, through educational outreach. On December 17 the Foundation hosted its second annual grant presentations for programs focused on promoting aviation careers among women, people of color, veterans and other groups.
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