Aircraft Interiors Expo profiles remarkable women in new campaign

Several of the industry’s leading female professionals have taken part, including Geraldine Lundy, Passenger Accessibility Manager at Virgin Atlantic; Nicole Noack, Head of Independent Aircraft Modifier Alliance at Lufthansa Technik; and Melissa Raudebaugh, General Manager of Aircraft Experience at Delta Air Lines. These women, along with 10 others have shared their thoughts, advice and experiences of working in the aviation industry in a series of interviews, now available to download as a free e-book at: http://bit.ly/AIX_WBA

In the e-book participants highlight some of the challenges they’ve faced within the industry, as well as key characteristics for success and advice to those considering a career in aviation. Mariya Stoyanova, Director of Product Development at JetBlue encouraged women to trust their intuition and to not be afraid to ask ‘the obvious questions’ while suggesting those seeking a career in aviation should “become comfortable being uncomfortable, it’s the fastest way to learn and grow.”

Furthering the conversation at this year’s AIX 2020, the CabinSpace Live Seminar Theatre will play host to a dedicated session on Women Behind Aviation. Set to be moderated by Founder, Editor and Publisher of Runway Girl Network, Mary Kirby, the talk will welcome a panel of women in senior roles in the aircraft interiors and passenger experience sector. Speakers will discuss their personal paths into aviation, current and upcoming initiatives to improve diversity in the workforce and in leadership roles, plus the immediate challenges for the industry to address.

In addition, a special episode of the exhibition’s podcast series PAX Week Views – will host Linda Celestino of Etihad Airways to talk about her career journey and the wider challenges facing the industry today, such as sustainability. The podcast will be available on iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts and can be found by searching for ‘PAX Week Views’.

Speaking about AIX, Polly Magraw, event director, said: “We are incredibly proud of the ‘Women Behind Aviation’ campaign for 2020 – the engagement and excitement from all the women we have spoken to as part of the initiative really is testament to how important diversity is for the industry right now. The women are truly inspirational as they successfully drive the sector forward, from all corners of the industry.

“AIX is renowned for being the home of conversations that influence the industry of tomorrow, and by highlighting both the achievements and challenges that these women have experienced within their career, we hope to help spearhead further growth towards even greater diversity in the industry.”