Tarrah Davis
“OKAY, folks, this is the shortest 10-minute flight in the world. Welcome aboard!” says Pilot Tarrah Davis with a smile as she prepares for take-off. Her welcome is warm, but her skills are ice cold – honed from over 1,100 hours of flight time.
Tarrah is one of three women pilots, out of 16, currently flying for Star Marianas Air. At 20%, the airline’s percentage of female aviators significantly exceeds the global average for commercial carriers.
The aviation industry has historically been male dominated, with women making up just 4-6% of airline pilots worldwide, according to most estimates. However, that number has gradually increased as more women pursue their dreams of conquering the skies.
Star Marianas Air is helping lead that change in gender diversity for Pacific aviation. On an airline where flights rarely exceed 30 minutes between the islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), every pilot plays an essential role in connecting the remote island communities.
Tarrah Davis
For Tarrah, who is coming up on her first month based in the CNMI, the experience has been a welcome change of scenery. “I love the weather out here,” she says. “A nice break from the cold winters back in the mainland United States where I did most of my training.”
With around 1,100 of the 1,500 hours required for commercial pilots under her belt, the island hopper runs are allowing Tarrah to rapidly build her experience. More importantly, they provide her a unique opportunity as part of Star Marianas’ vanguard of women aviators.
Corrie Ohlemeier with Star Marianas
“Seeing a woman in the cockpit is still pretty rare for many passengers,” Tarrah notes. Hopefully, it sends the message that this is an achievable dream for anyone to pursue.”
Corrie Ohlemeier with JetBlue
Back in 2009, one of the first pilots of Star Marianas, was also a woman. Corrie Ohlemeier was the captain of the PA-32-300 aircraft. “I fly for JetBlue now, I’m a first officer on the Airbus A320/321,” Corrie adds.
She started flying for JetBlue in 2017. Before that she flew for Cape Air for 7 years and was the captain on their Cessna 402 as well as a Captain, Instructor and Check Airman on the ATR42.
While the 20% of women pilots at Star Marianas still lag behind adequate representation, it demonstrates remarkable progress for an industry that has proven stubbornly resistant to gender parity over the decades.