Re: husband/wife teams

Nancy Novaes (skyelement_at_juno.com)
Sat, 13 Sep 1997 09:42:36 EDT


I find it interesting that suddenly, with women now flying as full
partners on the flight deck, that there is such odd concern for having
spouses flying together. As has been pointed out, relatives have been
flying together for decades: just not *these* relatives.

A blanket condemnation of husband/wife pilots, as opposed any other set
of relatives flying together, strikes me as unfair, perhaps even
prejudicial. Are we not all professionals in all circumstances? If there
is stress flying with someone, it is our obligation as professionals to
deal with it or to change the situation. Why this assumption that because
it's a spouse we are suddenly checking our professionalism at the door of
the cockpit?

Whether or not any two people fly well together is completely individual
and depends solely on the pilots themselves. Please remember that we are
all proud professionals. To assume that we become anything less by virtue
of a relationship with a coworker(s) strikes me as insulting as well as
unfair.