Life on the fly

Azara is a first-generation pilot; however, her parents were instrumental in shaping her career. Her father, an aviation enthusiast, took her to every event related to flying he could find, and her mother supported her when at age 20 Azara decided to pursue flying as a career.

Initially, Azara flew as a first officer for American Eagle. Based out of Chicago, she served the Midwest, piloting an Embraer EMB 145. After a stint flying a single-engine turbine aircraft for a private business, in 2017 she became a full-time contract pilot with several clients.

“Mostly, my business grows by word-of-mouth,” she explained. “If a client is happy, he or she will recommend me to another customer and that’s how over several years, I’ve built my customer base.”

Customer needs are as diverse as the aircraft Azara gets to fly. Some pilots ask her to mentor them if they don’t feel quite at ease with their aircraft; some prefer to fly with a safety pilot; some own airplanes but do not fly themselves; and sometimes she will fly an owner’s family where they need to go.

“I love the different clients, the fact that they’re not just an anonymous face in a crowd in the back of the airplane, and that I’m able to interact with them,” Azara said. That’s probably the reason why she’d think twice about working for an airline again.

But it’s not all glamour, and the day’s not over once the engine’s shut down. Depending on the type of aircraft, Azara has to stock the pantry, service the tires, check the oxygen, handle light and heavy baggage, tidy up the cabin, and, yes, clean the toilet. “The fact that I’m a bit obsessive-compulsive when it comes to cleaning is actually an asset in this environment. I run a clean ship,” she said. It also helps that she’s a regular customer at her local gym, because it takes muscle to lift and store baggage and handle other, heavy items.

So what’s it like to be a woman in a male-dominated environment? “I can honestly say I’ve always been treated very fairly by my peers,” Azara said. Exceptions are few, and “I wouldn’t want to fly for such an outfit anyway.” Any reservations she experienced came from passengers. She remembers an incident when she was flying for American Eagle. Boarding the airplane in her pilot’s uniform, she was approached by a passenger asking her to bring him a glass of apple juice. The crew on that day was all-female, so another passenger wondered aloud if they were all properly qualified.

Even though she’s considered a minority in her field—only 5 percent of corporate pilots are women—Azara says she doesn’t want special consideration because of her gender. She maintains that the industry has taken great strides to entice women into flying.

When she’s not flying, Azara is a farmer. She and her husband, Danny, bought and work a blueberry farm in Georgia, where they also keep horses. Besides flying, riding is Azara’s other passion. The farm is open to the public in June to people who want to pick their own fruit. Like many corporate pilots, Azara runs the farm as a sideline to boost their income, and because next to flying “horses are probably the second-most expensive interest to have.”

Azara’s husband also works as a corporate pilot. They sometimes go for weeks without seeing each other because of their individual schedules. But being a two-pilot family also has its benefits. “I love flying with my husband,” Azara said. Which is a good thing, because if either of their missions require a co-pilot, they are able to hire each other. “Danny is an excellent pilot and we really enjoy flying together,” Azara said. But she’ll be the one driving to the airport. 

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