‘Just us girls’ on international flight

SUVA – Airline Fiji Link created aviation history when an all-female crew, piloted and served passengers on an ATR-72 flight this week to Apia, Western Samoa.

Fiji Airways and Fiji Link media relations and communications manager Shane Hussein said it was the first time ever that an all-female crew had operated flights for the airline.

The flight, with Captain Hartlene Yuen and First Officer Sonam Pratap at the flight deck and two female flight attendants, was a milestone for the national carrier, its domestic and subregional subsidiary and the country.

“When I got to the tarmac and saw Varea and Mere the flight attendants I got pretty excited,” co-pilot Pratap said.

“We took a lot of selfies and got the flight into Apia and departed out of there quite early.”

“It was a nice experience because it was just us girls and this is something you don’t get to do every day.”

“I was really fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Hartlene because she is a good role model. “

“She knows quite a lot about the ATR and I look forward to having more flights with her and learning from her.”