Noemi Baechi and her family moved from Switzerland to the United States in 2012, where her love for aviation began. With a recommendation from a current Air Wisconsin Captain, Noemi join our family as a First Officer in 2022. She has quite a following on social media, watching her break barriers and continue to soar throughout her journey in commercial aviation. We are so grateful that Noemi landed at Air Wisconsin and can inspire other women and men to join the flightline. We had the chance to do a Q&A with Noemi!

How/why did you choose Air Wisconsin?

I got all my ratings at a local flight school in South Florida and decided to be a banner pilot to build my flight time.

I enjoyed the thrill of picking up a banner, dealing with strong winds in a very lightweight plane and the pure fun flying a Piper PA-18 Super Cub around the beaches. Through this experience, I was able to gain around 1300 hours of solo time.

I did my Private and instrument rating at NS Aviation (KHWO) and finished my commercial single and multi-engine land at Orange Wings aviation in Pompano, I flew with a current captain at Air Wisconsin, Tennyson Francis. 

I ended up choosing Air Wisconsin since it is a smaller, more family-oriented airline. Although I have just started to work for this company, I have already noticed the camaraderie amongst colleagues and the flight training department. It truly has a strong support system.

Another reason why I chose Air Wisconsin is because there was no training delay, and I was able to start my Indoc class within 10 days from my interview.

When did you know you wanted to be a pilot?

I didn’t realize I wanted to be a pilot until I was 21, it never seemed an option for me as I don’t have any family in aviation. I happened to drive by a local regional airport and thought it would be interesting to try it just for fun. The second I took off, I fell in love with aviation, and the rest is history.

Why do you love your job?

I am still very new at this company, but so far it has been an absolute blast to work with so many interesting individuals. Flying a jet is very different from my previous job, flying banners along the beach.

So far, I truly enjoy how everything is more fast paced, and is keeping me on my toes. The thrill of having a new overnight or fly to a destination I haven’t been to before. And of course… the views!

Why do you love working in this industry?

I love working in this field because everyone helps each other out and you are able to learn from many Captains, it is a challenge that pushes you, you can experience something new every day, and have the opportunity to travel around the world with your family!

Advise/encouragement to women entering this field?

My advice is to go out there and take a chance! Although you may not have family in aviation or have never thought about being a pilot before, I’d say just try and see how you like it! It’s not always going to be easy, there are going to be lots of challenges and sacrifices but in the end, it will be so worth it! One of my favorite quotes from Wayne Gretzky “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” so go out there and apply to that job you were too scared for or try something new you never thought you’d do!