Seoul women wear the wings

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard Korean Air Flight 613 from Seoul to Hong Kong. This is your captain speaking." Starting 15 November, that inflight message will have a distinct female tone, as the airline has given pilot wings to two women for the first time.

On that date, pilots Shin Soo Jin and Hong Soo In will take control of their first flights as captains of a short-to-medium range Boeing 737 aircraft.

South Korea has women flying helicopters and as combat pilots, but this is a first for the country's civil aviation industry.

Both Shin and Hong said being captain of a passenger aircraft is a huge responsibility, but a job both men and women can handle.

To qualify as an airline captain in South Korea, candidates must have more than five years' experience as a first officer, including more than 4,000 flight hours and 350 landings. Both women had to complete five months of rigorous upgrading before passing the final test.

The Standard, 5 November 2008