Spirit of Aloha | Message of Aloha | July/August 2002

This Place

Flying High

"They're paying me to do something I love," says Jaime Shiroma of her job at Island Air.

Jaime Shiroma was in the eighth grade when she knew she was destined to be a pilot. She signed up for aviation in a "Career Shadowing" program, then for Civil Air Patrol, and as a high school junior joined the Explorers, an aviation program that volunteer Aloha Airlines employees, in conjunction with the Boy Scouts of America, have kept running for 12 years. Jaime's adviser was a woman who was an Aloha pilot. "I was in one of the first Explorer classes," she recalls. "I went one evening and she showed me around the airplane, inside the cockpit. I thought, this is a cool job-you're not sitting in an office, you have the best view ever, you get to travel all over the place. I thought to myself, 'Wow, she could do it. I can do it!'"

These days, Jaime is sitting in that cockpit as one of two female captains at Island Air. With an Aviation Management degree under her belt and more than 1,500 hours of flying to her credit, she is an enthusiastic, energetic Island Air captain who remembers her roots in the industry and is also giving back to the program that nurtured her.

And she is only 27 years old.
"Training to be captain is a great experience," she says. "You learn so much-ground school training, flying in a simulator, flying in an actual airplane with an instructor, doing landings, instrument approaches and maneuvers. And now, as an adviser for the Explorers, I think I have more fun than the kids. How could you not? They are such an inspiration. They're so full of optimism."
In Explorers, public and private school students 16 to 21 years old sign up for a 12-week aviation program run by volunteer adviser employees from Aloha Airlines. After the 12 weeks, they can continue in an Advanced Explorers program, which runs year-round. Explains Jaime: "Every week they learn about a new occupation at Aloha: security, flight attendants, cargo, reservations. Everything is hands-on."

While piloting Island Air's Dash-8 aircraft, she has witnessed some of the most exalted sights of Hawai'i, such as the north shore of Moloka'i, with its tall sea cliffs and dramatic waterfalls. As a first officer on one of her flights to that island, Jaime had an especially amusing encounter with a passenger.

"In those days, the first officer stood by the ramp to greet passengers as they boarded," she explains. "I was doing that, and this older gentleman said, 'Are you the pilot? Do you have a driver's license?' I said, 'You don't need a driver's license to fly this thing.' I was just kidding. He said, 'You're over 18, right?' I said yes. He said, 'You look too young to be flying this plane.'

"I get that quite often," Jaime laughs.

Jaime's sense of humor is grounded in a confidence borne out of many years of training and commitment. After graduating from 'Aiea High School in Honolulu, she received her aviation degree from the University of North Dakota. Jobs at Canadian Airlines and as assistant dispatcher at Island Air followed. Then she became first officer at Island Air, and, finally, captain.

"They're paying me to do something I love," she says enthusiastically. "And the people I work with are fun. The sunrises are beautiful. I often think that we may be the first people in Hawai'i to see the sunrise. We have a panoramic view, and it's a time when the world is calm, undisturbed."

The youth of Hawai'i is synonymous with the youth of America. A program such as the Aloha Airlines Explorers is an investment in the future of our country. We are proud to have employees who are dedicated to investing their time and energy to motivate our youth to pursue their dreams and become leaders of tomorrow.

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