Sophie Blanchard shares the name of a French aviation pioneer and has now become one herself - as the first female captain, or pilot-in-command, for Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways. “I am very happy. It still is a pretty macho environment, but my colleagues here encouraged me a lot, and the flight attendants are very proud,” said the 33-year-old mother of two, a French citizen.
蘇菲．布蘭查德跟法國一位航空先驅同名同姓，如今她自己也改寫飛航紀錄，成為阿布達比的阿拉伯聯合航空第一位女機長（或正駕駛）。這位33歲的法國公民是兩個孩子的母親，她說：「我很高興，飛航界大半仍由男人主宰，但我的同事經常鼓勵我，空服員也感到很驕傲。」
Blanchard joined Etihad as its first female pilot three years ago and took off from Abu Dhabi to London on her first flight as captain on September 8, sitting in the left-hand seat of an Airbus A330-200（pictured, AFP）.
布蘭查德3年前加入阿拉伯聯合航空，成為第一位女機師，並於今年9月8日首次以機長身分，從阿布達比飛往倫敦，坐在空中巴士A330-200駕駛艙左邊座位（見圖／法新社）。
Her 18th century namesake was the first professional female balloon pilot, who even attracted the attention of French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, who named her “Aeronaut of the Official Festivals”. On the restoration of the monarchy in 1814 she performed for Louis XVIII, who named her “Official Aeronaut of the Restoration”.
18世紀那位同名同姓的蘇菲．布蘭查德，則是第一位職業女性飛船駕駛員，她甚至引起當時法國皇帝拿破崙的注意，封她為「官方節慶飛船駕駛員」。1814年恢復君主政體後，她為路易十八表演，並被冊封為「王政復辟時期正式飛船駕駛員」。
The modern-day Blanchard first flew an aircraft when she was 17. She travelled to Florida in the United States to train for her commercial licence before moving back to Europe to take up her first job. She then joined her stepfather's Belgium-based freight company as its only female pilot.
現代版的布蘭查德，學開飛機時年僅17歲。她到美國佛羅里達州受訓，考上商務飛行執照，再回歐洲接受第一份飛航工作，加入繼父位於比利時的航運公司，成為唯一一位女機師。
Blanchard said, “We used to work under very extreme conditions. I was flying a very old DC-8, a four-engine plane that was built in 1962. Very often we just ended up with only three engines left .”
布蘭查德說：「過去我們工作條件很差。我負責飛一架建造於1962年、非常老舊的4引擎DC-8貨機，我們往往在著陸後才發現只剩3個引擎。」
Blanchard later joined an Icelandic cargo company that was leasing planes to Etihad Airways. When United Arab Emirates law was changed to enable women to sponsor their husbands for residence permits, she applied for a position at Etihad and was recruited in May 2007. “It is a very male-dominated profession,” said Captain Richard Hill, the airline's chief operations officer. “In my career, I have flown with 10 or 15 women. To survive or get to where they are, they have to be very good at their jobs and they are exceptionally good pilots.”
布蘭查德後來加入一家冰島航運公司，該公司出租飛機給阿拉伯聯合航空。當阿拉伯聯合大公國修法，使婦女也能贊助她們的丈夫取得居留許可時，她向阿拉伯聯合航空申請機師工作，並於2007年5月加入。阿拉伯聯合航空營運長希爾機長表示：「這無疑是一項男性壟斷的行業。在我的職場生涯中，曾跟10或15位女機師合作過。要能熬出頭或有今天的成就，她們工作表現要十分傑出，而她們也的確是非常優秀的飛行員。」
Among Blanchard's battles were changes to her uniform. She now wears better-fitting trousers and does not have to sport a male necktie. “But I am not sitting in a cockpit to be a woman,” she said. “I am here to be a pilot. And our schedule has not been changed to accommodate us. It is a challenge to make yourself respected as a woman. But the biggest challenge for me has been to have a family.”
布蘭查德的挑戰還包括修改制服，她現在穿比較合身的褲子，而且不必跟男人一樣打領帶。她說：「但我不是為了爭女權而坐在駕駛艙，我在這裡是因為我渴望成為飛行員。我們的行程不會為了適應我們而改變，讓自己做個受人尊重的女性，是一大考驗。但對我而言，最大的挑戰毋寧是我有個家庭。」
Many Gulf airlines, including Etihad, lack a program by which women can go on maternity leave and undergo the training necessary to get them back up to speed upon their return. Hill did not rule out such a program in the future. Blanchard's two children were born before she joined Etihad. She raises them with the help of an understanding husband and domestic workers.
波斯灣地區很多航空公司，包括阿拉伯聯合航空在內，迄今未有任何計畫，讓婦女可休產假，並在她們復職時提供必要的訓練，幫助她們盡快進入狀況。希爾不排除未來納入這種方案的可能性。在布蘭查德加入阿拉伯聯合航空前，兩個孩子已經出生。她在能包容諒解她的丈夫和家庭幫傭協助下，撫養子女長大。
The number of female pilots with airlines in the region is on the rise. Since Blanchard's arrival, Etihad has recruited 10 female co-pilots, Hill said. Low-cost airline Air Arabia, based in Sharjah northeast of Dubai, has two female captains and three co-pilots, while Dubai's Emirates Airlines has 16 co-pilots but no captains. Bahrain's Gulf Air has four co-pilots. And Qatar Airways has more than 15 female co-pilots and three female captains.
這個地區航空公司的女機師正與日俱僧。希爾說，自從布蘭查德加入後，阿拉伯聯合航空已經延攬10位女性副駕駛。低成本的阿拉比亞航空，總部在杜拜東北的沙迦，該公司有2位女機長和3位副駕駛。至於杜拜的阿聯航空則有16位女性副駕駛，但沒有女機長。巴林的海灣航空則有4位副駕駛。卡達航空則有超過15位女性副駕駛和3位女機長。
Blanchard said , “It is amazing how well we are treated here. And when Qatari women see me in the cockpit, they suddenly have this big smile on their faces. They are really proud.” She has accrued more than 6,500 hours of flying time.
布蘭查德說：「我們在這裡的待遇很好。當卡達婦女看到我坐在駕駛艙裡，她們臉上突然露出燦爛的笑容，她們真的感到自豪。」她已經累積超過 6,500個小時的飛行時數。
In Saudi Arabia, where women are not allowed to drive cars, Saudi Arabian Airlines recruited its first female pilot in 2005. Hill thinks the number of female pilots will continue to rise. He said, “Ladies will come forward in increasing number to become pilots. We can see that with our recruitment for our cadet pilot program.”
在沙國，婦女仍禁止開車，但沙烏地阿拉伯航空2005年首次招募女機師。希爾認為，女機師的數量將繼續增加：「會有愈來愈多女性投入成為機師，從我們招募飛行學員的計畫可見一斑。」
Etihad Airways is the flag carrier airline of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Etihad is the Arabic abbreviation for United Arab Emirates. Established in 2003, Etihad commenced operation on November later that year.The airline operates close to 147 daily flights to 64 destinations in 42 countries, via a fleet of 54 aircraft. Its operation is heavily centered in Europe and Asia, as well as Oceania, Africa and North America.
阿拉伯聯合航空是阿拉伯聯合大公國在杜拜的旗艦航空公司。阿拉伯聯合航空是阿拉伯聯合大公國阿文縮寫。這家航空公司創立於 2003年，同年11月開始營運。該公司旗下有54架飛機，每天有147次航班飛往42個國家的 64個目的地。飛行路線主要集中在歐洲、亞洲、大洋洲、非洲和北美洲。