Salon

Ask the pilot: It's becoming downright commonplace to share the cockpit with a female pilot

I'm often asked why there aren't more female airline pilots. It's obvious to anybody who travels that the vast majority of pilots, be they military or civilian, commercial or private, are men. Perhaps it's the military culture that, for many decades, dominated the pilot ranks at most airlines. Or maybe there's something about flying, in and of itself, that naturally discourages women.

Whatever the reasons, the field isn't as male dominated as it used to be. By the mid-1990s about 3 percent of all cockpit crew members in the United States were women -- a total of about 3,500, representing a 30-fold increase since 1960. Because most of these pilots (along with many male pilots, myself included) were hired in a relatively short span during the pre-2001 boom years, they tended to fall into those unstable lower portions of airline seniority lists, and were most vulnerable to furlough. To wit, their total dropped sharply, to around 1 percent, following the airline apocalypse triggered by Sept. 11, 2001. Then, as regional carriers began hiring like crazy, it started climbing again. Now, with the industry in the throes of yet another downturn, with several regionals laying off staff, it is once again falling.

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12.09.2008 12:00:00 - Salon

Rays-Red Sox: The day after

Pondering Tampa's momentum-changing (ha!), pennant race-affecting (ha!) win. Plus: ESPN's Gammons and Co. confidently err on the rules.

11.09.2008 21:00:00 - Salon

Watching like it's 1985

ESPN Classic is rolling out old USC-Ohio State games, and it's great to see the -- hey, where's the damn score bug?!

11.09.2008 13:00:00 - Salon

Zombie feminists of the RNC

How did Sarah Palin become a symbol of women's empowerment? And how did I, a die-hard feminist, end up terrified at the idea of a woman in the White House?

11.09.2008 13:00:00 - Salon

Why this lifelong Republican may vote for Obama

The party of Bush and McCain outsourced the hunt for bin Laden, failing to accomplish a vital mission since 9/11.

11.09.2008 12:49:00 - Salon

Arab-American beauty

En route from "Six Feet Under" to "True Blood," TV genius Alan Ball snuck in "Towelhead," an earnest drama about race and sexual awakening in '90s suburbia.

11.09.2008 12:47:00 - Salon

An America-first election -- and Obama benefits

Seven years after 9/11, national security -- a political strong suit for the GOP -- recedes into the woodwork as voters focus on domestic issues.

11.09.2008 12:47:00 - Salon

Philosophy! Theology! Global catastrophe! Adventure!

Neal Stephenson's "Anathem" pulls off what most writers would never dare attempt -- it is simultaneously a philosophical argument and a ripping good yarn.

11.09.2008 12:45:00 - Salon

I can't let go of the one I loved, betrayed and lost

It has been three years since she left. Everything else in my life is great. But I can't get over her.

11.09.2008 12:30:00 - Salon

Where she was saved

The church where Sarah Palin grew up and was baptized preaches some of the most extreme religious views in the nation.

11.09.2008 12:04:00 - Salon