Christina Ho on her path to becoming a pilot, the highs and lows of flying and how she's challenging the persistent stereotype of the male pilot
Have you ever heard the voice of a female pilot over a plane’s public announcement system preparing passengers for take-off? Have you seen pictures of female pilots used in recruitment posters? Can you recall any female pilots in popular culture? The answer to all of these is likely to be 'no', or at most, 'rarely'.
It’s a reflection of the aviation industry, where the role of a pilot is heavily dominated by men. Research from a study by the International Society of Women Airline Pilots in 2021 showed that 5.8 percent of commercial airline pilots globally were female. According to pilot Christina Ho, this number hasn’t changed much in the last 30 years. So, while the actual number of female pilots may have increased in line with the size of the industry, the proportion has not.
A female pilot in Hong Kong, Ho is a rare breed. And her journey to the cockpit is rarer still, as she came to aviation later in her career, and unlike most pilots, who often have a family background in aviation, have always longed to fly or at least have pursued STEM subjects, particularly engineering, Ho came via art, fashion, and finally through the aircraft cabin where she was a flight attendant for four years. And even though her latter role put her just down the aisle from the cockpit, it is not a standard route to the pilot seat.
Ho’s path to pilot is distinctive, but also serves as an example of what is possible when you have a passion and put your mind to it. And her story is something that she is increasingly going out and sharing in an effort not only to inspire the next generation but to challenge the sticky stereotype of the male pilot.
Up, up and away
Ho was always interested in art, and left Hong Kong for the US on a scholarship to pursue it. From art, she decided that fashion, which was more people-orientated, suited her better, majoring in fashion design and then working in the industry for a few years after graduating before deciding that, as she was still young, she wanted to try something else and learn something new.
It was an aviation recruitment poster that inspired her to look to the skies. However, the poster featured an Asian female flight attendant and a white male pilot. “I thought, I can picture myself as that lady, but I can’t picture myself as that tall white guy in a suit.” And so, flight attendant it was—at least to start with. That was until Ho booked a jump seat—a seat located in the cockpit of the aircraft—on a packed flight to a friend’s wedding, a perk of being cabin crew.
Ho had been in and out of the cockpit in her role as a flight attendant, but this was the first time she had spent the entire flight there—and it would change everything. She describes the beautiful pinks and lilacs of the dawn skies that morning, the awe at being enveloped by the instrument lights, the exhilaration of take-off, and the impression the pilot made as he managed all the many different aspects of his role. She was entranced. “In the past I had tried so many different things, so many part-time jobs, and because of that when I hit upon something that I really liked, I knew it was for me,” says Ho, whose ambition at that moment changed—she wanted to be the one in control of the plane.
From there Ho got back in touch with someone she had been commissioned by for some artwork while studying, who happened to be a retired airline training captain and plane hobbyist in the US. She pooled her annual leave and went to work on his airfield, learning as much as she could in the process, from how to fuel different types of small planes, to putting together a flight plan, to the type of rivets used in plane building, before returning to Hong Kong to apply for cadet pilot training.
During the selection process, Ho was so focused on what she wanted to achieve that she didn’t think much about her fellow trainees, but once she was selected she realised she was one of just two women in her class of 13. On top of that, at least half of the class had a flying license of some kind already and had wanted to be a pilot since they were young, or were from an engineering background.
“At the time, I really had to tell myself: 'Don’t compare [yourself] to others'.” It wasn’t easy. An instructor pulled Ho aside one day and asked her if she knew how to drive a car. She didn’t. He asked if she played any team sports. Again, she answered in the negative. “They worried about me, because a lot of [my classmates] either had pilot experience or some kind of hand-eye coordination practice. I had to give [the instructor] some confidence and said, 'just fly with me. If I have certain things I’m not doing well, I will fix them and come back and eventually I will be the same level.'” She proved her worth—she didn’t simply scrape through her training but passed with flying colours and has now been a qualified pilot for five years.
