Tenacious, Gracious and Conscientious
During the pilot training days, Capt. Farah learned aviation subjects like air navigation, aviation meteorology, operating procedures, rules and regulations and flying skills to acquire a CPL. She is amongst the 6% of women pilots globally, who made it this far in this male-centric, highly competitive profession, and that makes us very proud. Her perseverance to succeed against all odds, dedication to her team and passion for flying have continually stood the test of time.
Capt. Farah shares, “I embarked on this journey as a pilot in 1996. Since then, there has been no looking back. It’s been more than 23years since I joined India’s premier erstwhile airline, Jet Airways India LTD, which hopefully should fly again and it is indeed the proudest moment for us.”
“You cannot judge a book by its cover- so live and let live”
Says Capt. Farah Khan Pethe, A Commercial Airline Pilot, Mentor, Certified Life Transformation Coach/ Public Motivational Speaker and Author. A self-made, ambitious woman belonging to an educated, modern-yet-cultured family in Mumbai, she is a go-getter who grew up with unconditional support and encouragement from her parents and family. Watching her parents, especially mother work so hard, sacrificing her own ambitions, Capt. Farah decided to pursue her career as an electronics engineer, with the dream to build a robot to help women carry out household chores so they could also pursue their careers/hobbies and spend quality time with their families. A straight-A student who excelled in her grade 12th board exams, she joined the flight training academy, to fulfil her father’s dream.
Using her eclectic personality traits of team management, interpersonal skills, flying experience, leadership qualities, and conflict resolution ability as a life coach, specialised in stress-relief techniques, with her wealth of knowledge, Capt. Farah has inspired millions with captivating, zestful speeches as a guest speaker at prestigious educational establishments and renowned organizations, both in India and globally.
“My relentless work and efforts have given hope to thousands of people during the unprecedented phase of COVID-19, and I am continuing to do so.” Having faced few gender stereotypes, Capt.Farah supports diversity, equity and inclusion as a necessity in the aviation industry to foster a cohesive environment amongst employees in order to make the journey smoother for female pilots.
“Well, there’s nothing wrong with baking your cake and eating it too”! My work inspires me to do more for women and for everyone who’s been facing uncertainties in their lives.”
The towering professional success emanated from an established purpose of knowing the clients’ needs and expectations, helped Capt. Farah deliver her work with impeccable satisfaction as she firmly believes in keeping her promises. Her willingness to be open to communication and the ability to help those in need, irrespective of their status, religion, or gender makes her life more meaningful with a laser-focused purpose.
Eloquently optimistic Capt. Farah maintains that learning new skills is a perpetual process and a lifetime investment. In her challenging yet enriching journey of becoming a pilot to a life transformation coach, she has come a long way. As an aviation mentor, Capt. Farah is consistently working towards helping next-generation kids, especially girls, who aspire to become pilots. A recognized author, Capt. Farah’s book “Conquering the Blue Skies” revolves around the reality that we can achieve anything in life with hard work and belief in ourselves, no matter what our circumstances are or where we are in life at the moment.
As being a perfectionist contributes to some hindrances, Capt. Farah relies on her strengths- patience, and perseverance, to hoist more flags of success. “You need to be comfortable in your own imperfections and that’s the true beauty of life”.
In 2006, after getting promoted as a Commander, she was bestowed with the coveted Captain’s Club Award conferred by International Women Flying Federation, USA. In 2010, she progressed as a Check-Pilot and in 2013, was nominated by her airline for the ‘Outstanding Women Achievers’ Award organized by IWPA for women achievers in various fields all over India. This year, she received the ‘STAR 2021’ certificate from the Indo-UK cultural forum for being a silent leader, inspiring millions of lives across the globe during the pandemic.
Capt. Farah, a dazzling star, has a strong message: “The limits that people impose on you, are their limits, not yours. Dream big, work hard with fierce determination, grit and persistence, you will surely rise above the glass ceiling.”
