Beauty Queen Pilot

To kick off our first Poo-Poo Rocket adventure, we present an exciting interview with a pilot beauty queen! That's right, she's both a pilot and a beauty queen! Her name is Chananporn Rosjan, known fondly to her friends as Nod. She is a pilot with Thai AirAsia and was crowned Miss Thailand in 2005. She represented her country in the Miss Universe pageant that year and won the Best National Costume award! This is her story ...
 

Beauty Queen Pilot Chananporn Rosjan (Nod) standing proudly in front of her AirAsia jet!

 
Nod first started as a trainee pilot. After a period of training, she had three months off before her first pilot examination. During that time, she could do anything she wanted. Being a tomboy while growing up, she was curious about what it was like to take part in a beauty pageant. As a result, she signed up for the Miss Universe Thailand contest and won! She then represented Thailand in the Miss Universe beauty pageant held in Bangkok that year, winning a special prize, the Best National Costume award. We had the pleasure of meeting Nod during our recent trip to Bangkok and she met us for a teatime chat even though she had piloted four flights that day! We were first awestruck by her and to be honest, we were pretty nervous about meeting a real-life beauty-queen pilot! But she had no airs about her and quickly put us at ease with her sweet demeanour. She was incredibly friendly and answered all our questions with enthusiasm!

Nod and us at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand

Here's what we talked about:  
 
Ryn: Which city that you fly to is your favourite?  

Nod: My favourite city is Bangkok. I lived in New York for 4 years and always looked forward to coming home to see my parents. I was always very excited to be back in Bangkok.

Ryn: What do you enjoy about flying?

Nod: I love everything about flying! My mother was a stewardess, and I got to go on board the plane sometimes. I would explore the cockpit and fiddle with some of the buttons!

Ryn: Why did you want to take a break from being a pilot and join the Miss Thailand competition?

Nod: I took 6 months to prepare for the pilot exams, and there was a 3-month wait to start the actual training. As a tomboy while growing up, I never got a chance to dress up. So I thought I would try out something different. Also, that was the year when a tsunami had hit southern Thailand. The objective of the Miss Thailand competition that year was to help with reconstruction in places like Phuket. It was very meaningful to participate in the reconstruction effort and to bring relief supplies to victims in the affected areas.

 

 

Ryn: Which do you prefer - being a pilot or Miss Thailand?

Nod: I like both! There are different aspects to both jobs. As I said, I didn’t know anything about dressing up and thought the Miss Thailand competition would be fun, different and exciting. At the same time, I had always wanted to be a pilot when I was a child. Some people find waking up each day to get to work very tedious but I never have that feeling because I love going to work as a pilot!

Wyn: Did you have to go to pilot school to train?

Nod: Yes, you have to go to pilot school. I spent a year in the Bangkok Aviation Centre and learned how to be a pilot from scratch. I started flying a single-engine plane and moved on to the two-engine plane.
 

 

Ryn: What problems have you encountered as a pilot?

Nod: I have not encountered any major problems so far. Sometimes there are delays caused by weather conditions, such as heavy rain and storms. That causes us to be unable to land, and the plane will have to circle in the sky for a while. That can add to stress sometimes.

Wyn: When will you become a Captain?

Nod: I am taking the necessary tests and am hoping to qualify as a Captain by early 2014!

Ryn: Which part of Thailand was your favourite when you were a child?

Nod: I love Chiang Mai! Chiang Mai is in the north of Thailand and has lots of hills around it. It is cold there in winter, so there is a nice change from the plains of Bangkok to the beautiful hills. I also like the local dialects and the different types of food. The food there is different from in Bangkok because the people use different spices and ingredients.

Ryn: How did you feel when you were crowned Miss Thailand?

Nod: I felt extremely surprised! I didn’t think I would win, but I felt that my being a pilot was something different, and it did make a difference. When they asked me if I could take time off being a pilot to be Miss Thailand, I replied honestly “no”. Surprisingly, I still won! The airline was kind enough to let me juggle my time flexibly to perform my duties.

 


Nod in her winning national costume


Ryn: Do people recognise you in public?

Nod: Sometimes people do! I am told I look different now than from the time I joined the Miss Thailand competition. People ask to take photographs with me, and I oblige if I have time before flying.

Ryn: Besides speaking English and Thai, you speak German and Italian too! How did you learn to speak German and Italian?

Nod: Growing up in New York, I wanted to take a second language. However, the French classes were full! Most of the pupils took Spanish, so I thought it would be fun to take up something different. Plus, I loved singing opera parts, and most famous operas are sung in German and Italian.

 

 

 

Ryn: How many female pilots are there in AirAsia?

Nod: There are now around 18 female pilots. I wasn’t the first – there were around six when I signed up, but I was the youngest then.

Ryn: How do you feel about being a role model for women who want to be pilots?

Nod: I am honoured to be a role model for them. As I was always an average student, I had no special talent. I played the piano but was not very good at it, and I tried sports but was too short! So I thought I would pursue my dream to be a pilot. Actually, I wanted to be an astronaut, so a pilot's close enough! It is empowering that a normal girl can follow her dream to fly. It feels good to be looked up to by young women, so I don’t want to let them down.

And on that inspiring note, we ended our chat with Nod. The next time you take an AirAsia plane, who knows? Nod could be your pilot and the Captain too!

Fly high, Nod!

With thanks to Wow, Topaz & Desi, the fabulous team at AirAsia