“It made me feel sad. It was just surprising,” Steacy told CTV Vancouver. “I can’t believe that there’s people that still think that way.”
Steacy has been flying with WestJet for nine years, and has been a pilot for 17.
Here’s the note in full:
To Capt/WestJet
The cockpit of an airliner is no place for a woman. A woman being a mother is the most honor, not as “captain.” We’re short mothers, not pilots WestJet. Proverbs 31
PS I wish WestJet could tell me a fair lady is at the helm so I could book another flight! In the end this is all mere vanity.
Not impressed.
Respectfully in love, David
Steacy’s male co-pilot and the female flight attendants all experienced similar reactions. “All of us had our mouths open in shock,” she said. “We didn’t know what to say.”
She opted to respond to the note on Facebook.
“To @David in 12E on my flight #463 from Calgary to Victoria today. It was my pleasure flying you safely to your destination. Thank you for the note you discreetly left me on your seat. You made sure to ask the flight attendants before we left if I had enough hours to be the Captain so safety is important to you, too. I have heard many comments from people throughout my 17 year career as a pilot. Most of them positive. Your note is, without a doubt, the funniest. It was a joke, right? RIGHT?? I thought, not. You were more than welcome to deplane when you heard I was a ‘fair lady.’ You have that right. Funny, we all, us humans, have the same rights in this great free country of ours. Now, back to my most important role, being a mother.”
[CTV Vancouver] [The National Post]
