Miami Herald Feature: Linda Pauwels

American Airlines Captain Linda Pauwels was featured in the March 6, 2021 issue of the Miami Herald. Linda moved to Miami with her mother after her father died in Argentina when she was a child. Despite being a teacher by training and education, her mother was unable to find a job that could support her children, so Linda was sent back to live with relatives in Argentina. On a summer visit to Miami when she was 16, Linda got a job at MIA with an airline that needed French-speaking agents. As soon as she set foot into the cockpit of an airplane, she knew she wanted to fly. She worked two jobs to pay for flight training and earned her private pilot’s license at 17. A 1985 graduate of Miami-Dade College, she was ready to be an airline pilot, but the industry wasn’t ready for women in the cockpit. Linda persisted, and became the first Latina airline pilot, and the youngest airline Captain in the world at 25 years old. Linda has been flying for over 30 years, has flown thousands of miles around the world, and is currently a Boeing 787 Check Airman. 

Here’s a quote from the article, by Walter Villa:

“In 2000, Linda Pauwels became a pioneer pilot, the first Latin woman ever to captain an American Airlines flight.

Now she’s a pioneer poet, too.

Last year, she authored “Beyond Haiku: Pilots Write Poetry.” In the 50-page book, she incorporated the contributions of 40 pilots, including her own prose. She also asked the children of pilots — ages 6 to 17 — to contribute illustrations to accompany the poems. She used the work of 18 artists.”

Read more here: Miami Herald Linda Pauwels

And visit her website: Beyond Haiku