Since its establishment in 1993, AirAsia has evolved beyond its initial status as a pioneering low-cost airline into a dynamic travel and lifestyle platform for underserved communities. Their achievement in being named a leading ASEAN brand is made possible by their dedicated Allstars.
At the heart of all this are their women Allstars. Dedication towards fostering equal opportunities and diversity across grounds and 35,000 feet into the air, AirAsia proudly celebrates their female Allstars today with the #GirlsCanDoAnything campaign.
How #GirlsCanDoAnything came to be
Launched in 2016, this campaign features purpose-driven programs that are particularly tailor-made to uplift women from all walks of life and encourage existing Allstars women to pursue their place in leadership roles within the organisation.
Aireen Omar, pioneer and concurrently the President (Investment & Ventures) at Capital A and CEO of Capital A International for #GirlsCanDoAnything, has said: “Over the years, women have proven themselves to be just as good or even better than men, and we have shown the world that we are strong, resilient, capable, intelligent and of course, beautiful inside and out. You have heard us talking about having female pilots, engineers, security teams, and so forth. But we also have intelligent female data scientists, fantastic coders, software engineers, and cybersecurity experts! Our female Allstars are doing all this while being a mother, wife, and daughter and have the autonomy of managing their own lives.”
These words are a testament to what AirAsia is today, with close to 20,000 Allstars, 40% of whom are women.
Initiatives under #GirlsCanDoAnything
Since its launch, #GirlsCanDoAnything has spawned many initiatives, and the tradition continues this year. The 2024 International Women’s Day celebration saw Datuk Nicol David in attendance at RedQ Sepang, where she shared her inspiring story of becoming the first female World Squash Champion at 23 years old. The celebration also uplifted local women-led businesses and social enterprises by allocating booths at the venue in conjunction with the celebration.
In Manila, International Women’s Day kicked off with an all-female flight. To make the occasion even sweeter, two All-Women Lanes were dedicated at the NAIA Terminal 2 check-in in honour of all women going on board.
Separately, AirAsia launched Moms-on-Duty kits in conjunction with the Mother’s Day celebration this year as a part of the new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiative. The kit consists of a new nursing cover in addition to the signature uniforms given to all flight crew, which AirAsia will be providing to all new mothers in operations starting this year.
Choose to challenge equality
2009 was the year AirAsia became the first airline in ASEAN ever to welcome female pilots on board, with Captain Norashikin Onn, who also became the first female commercial pilot in Malaysia. Since then, female pilots have only continued to soar across the sky through AirAsia, including Indonesia’s Captain Monika Anggreini and Thailand’s Captain Suwapich Wongwiriyawanich, who started as a mere cabin crew member before becoming the first female captain of an Airbus 330 in the country.
This commitment goes beyond just pilots and cabin crew—engineers, ground service, and office roles are also part of the Allstars team. Having operated all-female flight and ground teams, Airasia has also had maintenance led by its female Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, Putri Siti Nordiyana. In 2019, AirAsia Philippines celebrated its first female Robotics (RTS) Engineer, Jerelyn Castillo.
Currently, AirAsia employs over 200 female pilots and over 230 female engineers, contributing to its record of having one of the region’s highest ratios of female pilots and engineers. AirAsia was also one of the first airlines to appoint female ramp teams since 2011.
Going forward, AirAsia hopes to inspire more women to sign up for the programme and join its rapidly growing team of female pilots. AirAsia hopes to be a trailblazer in championing equality in a male-dominated workforce by having more women in the aviation industry. With #GirlsCanDoAnything, everything is made possible for young girls aspiring to be pilots, engineers, and more.
