Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: How Adva Amir Became One of the Few Female Airline Captains | E108
Tue, 27 May 2025
As a curious eight-year-old, Adva Amir was mesmerized by the cockpit during a family trip, sparking a lifelong dream of becoming a pilot. After failing to become a military pilot in Israel, Adva felt broken. Shifting her mindset and picking up the pieces, she moved to the U.S. to pursue civilian flight training. Despite language barriers, naysayers, and grueling hours, she broke into this male-dominated field and became one of the few female airline captains in the world. In this episode, Adva joins Ilana to share insights on chasing your dream, even when the odds are stacked against you. Adva Amir is a commercial airline pilot, TEDx speaker, and LinkedIn Top Voice. Recognized by the National Business Aviation Association as one of the top 40 most influential people in aviation, Adva actively advocates for diversity and inclusion while mentoring aspiring pilots. In this episode, Ilana and Adva will discuss: (00:00) Introduction (01:54) Her Childhood Fascination with Flying (03:16) Failing to Become a Military Pilot (05:51) Leading a Military Unit at 19 Years Old (07:15) Moving to the U.S. for Flight Training (12:06) The Challenging Path to Becoming a Pilot (17:15) Landing First Airline Job Amid COVID-19 (20:11) Breaking Barriers and Expectations in Aviation (23:06) Adva’s Viral LinkedIn Post Inspiring Millions (26:50) Adjusting to Long-Haul Flights with Hawaiian Airlines (30:34) Discovering a Passion for Surfing (36:54) Competing in the Maccabiah Games (39:01) Pursuing Dreams Despite Naysayers Adva Amir is a commercial airline pilot, TEDx speaker, and LinkedIn Top Voice. While at SkyWest Airlines, she became one of the few female airline captains, breaking barriers and inspiring others. Currently at Hawaiian Airlines, she flies long-haul routes as a First Officer. Recognized by the National Business Aviation Association as one of the top 40 most influential people in aviation, Adva actively advocates for diversity and inclusion while mentoring aspiring pilots. Connect with Adva: Adva’s Website: advamir.com Adva’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/adva-amir-3bb2a6136 Leap Academy: Ready to make the LEAP in your career? There is a NEW way for professionals to Advance Their Careers & Make 5-6 figures of EXTRA INCOME in Record Time. Check out our free training today at leapacademy.com/training
Chapter 1: What inspired Adva Amir to become a pilot?
They told me, welcome to the most beautiful office in the world. And they were right. So this is how it started. Later on, I wanted to become a military pilot. All the air shows and everything, it's really... made my life even bigger, but it didn't work out for me.
So becoming a pilot in the Israeli Defense Force is probably one of the most rigorous training tests possible. Most, most, most people, like I don't know the percentages, but most people obviously don't make it. But I think that setback for somebody 18 year old can actually really hurt. So how did you go through the training and how did you cope with the setback?
It was a big setback. I almost couldn't resist. I appeal and appeal and I really wanted to do it. And I was like, no way, I'm not going to be a pilot in the military. There's no way. But when I'm looking at it from today and I did something completely different in the military, I'm happy. I'm happy that the things worked the way they did.
At the time, it was really, really hard for 18 years old at VATU. First time, it was like a big failure for me. It's like they don't want me. But I think everything worked out the way it should and made me happy. go and achieve my dream in a different way.
Chapter 2: What challenges did Adva face while training to be a pilot?
There's a little bit of, to some extent, the best of the best will go there. Otherwise you would not even get the minimum to even get the gate open, right? So what's interesting is that you take the most successful individuals that always, to some extent, were successful in everything they've done until then, And that is kind of the first blow they get. And that's a really, really hard one.
I mean, I think my first big defeats were kind of in the military, right? And these are big slaps in the face that sometimes take you some time to recover. Oh, my God. Like, what just happened? Did they just kill my dream? What is going on? So take me just for a second. Do you remember how you felt and how do you recover from that? Because again, it's hard for overachievers.
You are clearly an overachiever.
And exactly as you said, as also the thought that they're taking the best of the best and all of a sudden you feel like, oh, so I'm not the best of the best. This was really hard to recover from. And I think it took me a long time. But as I started my position in the military, everything went away. And I said, OK, this is my journey now. I choose this. I enjoy this.
I loved what I was doing in the military and I wouldn't replace it with anything else.
Do you want to share what that is?
So I was a civil coordination officer in the IDF. I was working a lot coordinating activities between the Palestinian Authority and the IDF.
The interesting thing about military is that I think we get responsibility at age 20 that I barely had at age 40. And I still talk about it, right? So what do you think are like two, three main points or one significant one that are just like, oh my God, this helped me?
I think the first thing is that I learned to put the people first. I wasn't like this in the beginning, you know, as you were in the military too, an F-16 instructor, that sometimes it can be like really busy. You have a lot of things to do and overachievers, we want to achieve everything and be good at everything. And sometimes we forget the people.
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Chapter 3: How did Adva overcome setbacks in her military pilot training?
And at that point, you're managing literally 16 people and you're what, 19, 20?
Yeah.
Right. Isn't that amazing? Like, it's just crazy to think about it.
It's crazy.
So you still finished the military. What made you still decide to pursue flying? Because to some extent, that could also be a wound that you don't want to open again.
I think my personality that I was always a rebel helped me. go and pursue this dream again. It took me a long time. I already applied for university and I was supposed to start studying at a university. And then it was really 50-50 till I sat down with myself and it was a long time, two months. I was writing the benefits and the disadvantages. Like the pros and cons and all that.
Yeah, pros and cons, like really doing this list. Yeah. That it wasn't like I'm going to do the flight school in my home country. I had to move to the U.S. to do that. So it was a big, big decision. And I remember coming to my parents and tell them one day they were just sitting in the living room and I was like, hey, I think I want to become a pilot.
Oh, I want to be on a fly on the wall on that discussion.
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Chapter 4: What was Adva’s experience moving to the U.S. for flight training?
And I got this look. I remember my dad saying, okay, go and check it. You know, like it was very abnormal for a 21 years old girl to go and say, I want to be a pilot in my home country. Normally people just become pilots after the military, of course, in civil way, but they really accepted it calmly and relaxed, which made me relaxed. I was like, okay, it's possible. It's
So people didn't try to say, are you crazy, Edva? Just go study something that you know works. There's no stats around women making it as pilots, really. It's so abnormal. Just go the regular route. Why do you need to be crazy? Were there like naysayers or no, basically people just accept it?
Oh, so many naysayers. So many. I got a lot, a lot of comments when I just started. I got so many of them that I didn't want to say I'm going to become a pilot. I almost kept it as a secret. Like one day I just disappeared from Israel. I went to the U.S. Wow. My friends were wondering, where did I go? And I said, at the beginning, I remember I was so scared.
I was just saying, I'm going to study aviation. You know, that could be a lot of things.
It's very big. I love that. I love that. It is an open wound to some extent. I mean, it hasn't been many years. It's probably not completely scarred up. I'm sure there's a little bit of anxiety. What if I fail again? Is that still in your head?
That was still in my head. I think this was part of the reason that I didn't say anything because... I like to first show the results and then talk about it. It's not the opposite for me. And I think for a lot of people too, especially women, we want to prove ourselves first before we talk about it. But there were a lot of people who told me, how are you going to do that? You're female.
You're too young for that. There's no chance you're going to be a pilot if you weren't a pilot in the military. It's a long way. So all the fear, again, also from my military time, It rose up to the surface. And I was like, maybe I'm not going to be good enough again. But this time it worked out, Ilana.
So take us there. You're coming to the U.S. You have this plan. Talk to me about the first early days, because it's also acclimatizing to a new country, new language, new everything. That's not simple, Edva. Like that is very gutsy.
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Chapter 5: How did COVID-19 impact Adva’s career as a pilot?
It wasn't simple at all, especially the language. Of course, I learned English during school, but when you come to the U.S. and everyone is speaking English, all of a sudden, I remember I was in the supermarket just buying groceries, and then they asked me if I want the receipt. This is not a normal question where I come from. So I was like, excuse me. And they're like, do you want the receipt?
Like three times just to understand if I want the receipt. And then there is this English part, the mentality part, the new country part. And there's also the aviation English, which is very different from English. Wow. So I had a lot of struggles, but I think I also love challenges and I learned that I grow from them.
So I took all of the things that happened to me as a challenge, but it was tough. I think especially the English part. Now everything is in English. My studies are in English and everyone talking to me in English and I need to do tests in English.
You actually need to make friends in English. Like that's not easy. Did you have those moments where you're like, you know what? Forget it. Let me just go back to Israel. Let me just go back to study. What on earth am I doing?
I think this moment came later. I was a flight instructor. And in order to work for the airlines, you need to build about 1,500 hours, which is a lot. So you finish your studies with 250 hours, and then you need to build a lot of hours. And being a flight instructor, when you're trying to get as many hours as possible, you're kind of in a race for that. It was difficult.
I remember I came back home for a visit during my school and And all of a sudden I felt everything. And it was very, very difficult to, as a flight instructor and being like sometimes seven, eight hours in the air, it was very taking a lot of your energy. And I was like, there's no way I can do so many hours. There's no way I'm going to survive this.
But this was like almost a point I was in Israel and I didn't want to go back.
What age are you at that point?
This was around 23.
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Chapter 6: What barriers did Adva break as one of the few female airline captains?
It's hard. It's hard at any age. But how do you then get up and do it again? First of all, take me through that moment when you're like really down and you need to pack your bags and go back to the U.S. and do this again and just work on the hope. Because I think that hope is really, really hard to sustain itself.
really, really hard. And I think what helped me at that time, sometimes your supportive environment, this is what you need. You need a good word from someone close to you or a little encouragement. And this is all you need. And this is what I got from my family at the time, which was exactly what I needed to go back and continue my journey.
So you're continuing with these atrocious hours. What happens then?
I think I did a mindset shift. I went back to the beginning when my vision was so clear to me. I went back to that. And sometimes it's like a roller coaster, especially in this kind of a journey. And sometimes you're up, sometimes you're down, sometimes you don't believe.
And I think at this moment I decided I'm believing no matter what people tells me, I'm putting everything in the background and I'm just continuing. And I put myself on autopilot. I was taking the most out of it. I started to actually enjoy. And I think also when you're a new flight instructor, it's really hard.
There's a lot of things, new things, like everything you start for the first time, it's hard. And you're not always, you know, the best of it in the beginning and you have so much to learn. And I think me as wanting to be the best at everything I do was difficult. But once you pass this barrier, I think things open up. I started to enjoy it. I was better.
Initially, when you start, do you feel fear of landing or fear of the basic things that should eventually become normal? Where did fear catch you?
I think my fear caught me at different momentum than other people in aviation. And I know because I was speaking to my friends and a lot of people are afraid of their first solo and how they'll do. And I think I was confident in my solo. I know I'm going to land it. I know I'm going to do well. But The fear was always, you know, the first step is like you need to do landings.
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Chapter 7: What was the significance of Adva’s viral LinkedIn post?
And then the next step is like, you know, flying an approach. And then you have to do maneuvers. And every time before this step started, I was like, am I going to do well? Am I going to do well? I wasn't sure, like every time I had a doubt in myself if I'm going to do well. But once I was released to my solo, I knew I'm going to do well. So when you leave me by myself...
When no one is watching, you know you're going to crush it. Exactly. So that's amazing. So you're finishing these mega lots of hours. So take me there. Sorry, I broke from that because you reminded me something about fear. But what's helped you get the first role in a real company? Or how is the path? I don't even know what the path is in the commercial.
And I think all the listeners have no clue how on earth eventually you end up in the cockpit. So walk us there.
After 1,500 hours, this is what you need to get in the airlines in the U.S., I got accepted to my first airline. It's a regional airline. This is normally will be your first company. And they do flights in the US mostly on a smaller airplane. It's not a small airplane, but it's a smaller. It's between 50 and 70 people on a jet. And then I started my training, which is a three-month training.
It's including a lot of knowledge, aeronautical knowledge and simulator, a lot of simulator training to train all scenarios and to learn the airplane. And then one week before the end of training, COVID hits. And then they send all of us back home. And now the big uncertainty, I finally made it. I'm already there. And all of a sudden they changed all my plans.
And I was in a big cloud of uncertainty. I went back to Israel. I didn't know when they'll call me, if they'll call me. And it was a really tough time, but I needed to stay optimistic.
That could jolt you in a big way. Well, I think COVID jolt everybody in a big way because there was so much unknown. And I think you were in the industry that was probably hit one of the hardest, right? Like the travel industry. So take me there. At this point, are you in SkyWest? Am I piecing it together? Okay. So what happens? You're going back to Israel. There's a ton of unknown.
What's happening?
So I went back. It took me some months to understand. I was hoping maybe one, two months, three months, I'll be back. And then after time passes, I understood that I need to do something. So I started to do marketing for small businesses. I opened my business. I was starting doing that. And I was doing that for a whole year till they call us back.
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Chapter 8: How does Adva inspire others to pursue their dreams?
How many women captains exist? Like it's probably like minimal, minimal, minimal, right?
It's very, very, very low. Very low. I think less than 2% actually become captain. And, you know, during my time in the airline, I only got to fly with two other women in the cockpit. So you can understand the statistic is not really for us. Right.
But how cool is that? Like you come in and you see two women in the cockpit, like let's go.
All the gossips that went in the cockpit this day. No, I'm joking.
That's amazing. Okay. So you climb up there. Do you get remarks? Like I'm sure there's all sorts of remarks. People are excited. People are scared. People are wondering. People think that you're the stewardess. What remarks do you experience at that point? Because this is still new.
And I got a lot of remarks also as a first officer. I think they just were extended when I became a captain. But the flight attendant thing used to happen a lot. I would come to the gate, to the gate agent. And sometimes when we commute back and forth from work, If the flight is full, we have the benefits of taking the jump seat, which is the seat in the cockpit.
And I would go and I would ask for the jump seat and they would tell me, oh, you can't. And I'm like, why I can't? And they say, because it's only for pilots. I was like, but I'm a pilot. So this would happen so many times just based on my look and the assumption that I must be the flight attendant. And it happened so many times, like really, I cannot even tell you.
But I take it in a humor way and it's not like insulting me or hurting me because I know it's a awareness kind of thing because there's so little women in aviation.
We didn't break the barrier yet. Like it's just not part of the template. Now you are part of the breaking the barrier, Edva. And that's why it's so amazing. And at what point did you write that really, really inspiring post that I think got, I don't know, many tens of thousands of whatever and millions of views, probably. When did you write that and why?
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