Living the Dream

If there’s one thing that many pilots have in common, it’s that they knew they wanted to fly planes from the time they were kids. For Jessica Ortega, First Officer at Republic Airways, she had a first-hand experience of growing up the daughter of an airline pilot. “I got bit by the travel bug growing up—I liked my dad’s pilot lifestyle and wanted to give it a shot of my own.” For Republic First Officer Mohammed Farag, his dream started as a five-year-old boy in his native homeland of Egypt. “I remember seeing three planes in the sky leaving three contrails parallel to one another. Later, I saw three long stretched clouds that were parallel and thought, ‘Planes make clouds, and the people who fly the planes are cloud makers—I want to be a cloud maker when I grow up!” Republic First Officer Sunny Naik’s realization came during his junior year in high school as he pondered his future. “I was enrolled in the Aerospace Academy associated with Embry-Riddle, so that helped me make my decision, as well as a teacher who motivated my desire to fly,” says Sunny. “Also, knowing that being a pilot would let me go anywhere in the world helped me make my final decision.” Jessica, Mohammed and Sunny all share another thing in common: they are living their dreams at Republic Airways, an airline they all say feels like home for several reasons.

Diversity Welcome

Republic Airways embraces a culture of diversity and actively seeks to train and hire pilots who represent all walks of life. It’s a practice that Mohammed recognizes and appreciates. “While gender diversity is changing in the airlines, it’s still at a low percentage,” Mohammed notes. “Airlines like Republic are now showing ads with female pilots and male flight attendants, challenging old stereotypes and changing the way they recruit.” Hiring more female pilots means that every now and then, Jessica is part of an all-female crew—an opportunity that she truly enjoys. “The times I’ve flown with all-female crews have been some of my best trips! There’s a refreshing energy to the trip, being able to have some ‘girl talk’ and relax.” The cockpit doors are wide open at Republic for anyone who wants to be a pilot. “Challenge anyone who says you can’t be a pilot,” Mohammed advises. “I have had that said to me countless times due to my origins and faith, but it did nothing except add determination to prove them wrong.”

A Caring Spirit

Whether you work in the corporate headquarters, at a maintenance base or in an airplane, there’s a feeling of family everywhere at Republic. “I don’t always work with the same crewmembers,” Mohammed says, “so every time I work with someone new I get to learn about their life and share stories. And when I see crew members I’ve worked with before, it’s like a mini reunion.” In both her previous job as Assistant Chief Pilot and her current position as General Manager and Director of Academic Programs at Republic’s LIFT Academy, Dana Donati got to put that Republic caring spirit to work. “When I became an Assistant Chief Pilot, my passion became helping people. And now I’m incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to be a part of a flight academy that helps people achieve their dreams of becoming a pilot.” Republic also lives out that spirit through service to the community in a variety of ways. On a trip to Haiti where Republic is working to improve the lives of families living in the village of Barriere Battant. First Officer Ethan Hawes literally experienced a whole new perspective. “We spend a lot of time in the air, and you look out the window and you don’t really think much of it,” Ethan shares. “Really understanding the struggles that other people are facing around the world is such a magical thing. On this trip, pretty much every area of the company is represented—from technology to engineering to execs, everyone. We’re utilizing the teamwork that we learn in training and rehearse over and over and over. Everyone’s working together on the front line. It’s a truly life-changing experience.”

It’s Just a Cool Place to Work!

Whether it’s working in a diverse, welcoming, caring environment or flying state-of-the-art Embraer jets or having 12 days off every month to spend with family or friends (or flying somewhere awesome!), Republic pilots have some of the best jobs in the industry.