Pioneering airline captain on making Wagga dream a reality

Michelle Huntington wanted to be a pilot from the age of four, when her dad joined the RAAF and moved the family to Wagga in the 1970s.

“I remember seeing all these pilots who were revered like demigods. They were all men, but I thought ‘I can do that’; it looked easy for someone who never looked into it,” she said.

Her family encouraged her, but she faced multiple obstacles. Her career advisor told her women couldn’t be pilots, as did a bank, who refused to lend her money so she could learn.

When she finally became an airline captain, people still couldn’t believe it.

“I once boarded a plane in my uniform and a new cabin crew member once asked to see my ticket. I surprised her by turning left and going into the cockpit,” she said.

Throughout her career, she was often mistaken for a flight attendant.

“I was flattered when they thought that, as the cabin crew were all so beautiful.”

In reality, Ms Huntington had a glittering two-decade career in aviation. She flew doctors to rural towns for Regional Express (REX) before becoming an airline captain for Virgin Australia. Since retiring in 2021, she’s been giving motivational talks and workshops on managing teams, critical thinking and conflict resolution. She also co-hosts Captain and the Clown, a podcast with Albury’s Guy Newman about leadership and life.

Now living in Sydney, the 52-year-old will return to the Riverina as one of eight presenters at the inaugural Griffith TEDx public speaking forum on Thursday 29 August, where she will explain how she overcame the odds and how others can too.

“I was in Year 10 when my career advisor told me women couldn’t be pilots; she told me I should do arts. I was compliant back then,” she said.

After completing a visual arts degree at Charles Sturt University, she got married and moved out west, where she studied archaeology.

“I later moved to Tamworth after splitting with my husband. I met a woman who was learning to fly at British Aerospace Flight Training Academy. I thought if she could do it, so could I.

“I needed to borrow money but the bank told me they wouldn’t give me a loan to learn to fly; they said women couldn’t be pilots. So I put on some pearls and lippy and went to another bank and told them I wanted to borrow money to renovate my house. They lent it to me for that. Rather than decorating my house, I sold it and moved to Sydney and used the money to go to flight school at Bankstown Airport.”

She was the only woman in her class.

“Some people looked at me with suspicion because I was a wonder. I proved my worth by outflying them or getting through to a command before them,” she said.

When she joined Virgin Australia, only 41 of the 1800 pilots were women. She was pleased to see this number steadily grow throughout her career.

“People are getting used to female pilots, there’s more media about us. Children’s books are showing female pilots, engineers and builders … with role models out there, there’s more pathways for women.”

Ms Huntington wants to see that trend continue as she inspires the next generation.

“One thing I always tell young people is don’t be limited by other people’s expectations. If you can dream it, you can do it.”