From the Cabin to the Cockpit

Ever since Ming Ai Hii-Boughton was little, she wanted to work in aviation. Perched on a seat at the airport gate with her suitcase in hand, her eyes would sparkle as she saw crew members walking together in uniform.

“Being a pilot was always such a glamorous thing,” Ming said. “I would see them and dream about being in their shoes.”

Ming, now an Endeavor Captain, first started her aviation journey at Delta Air Lines as a flight attendant in January 2014. Based in Atlanta, she saw flight attendant life as an opportunity to elevate her career and embrace the adventures that came along with it.

“I thought, what better way to see the world than working as a flight attendant?” Ming said. “You see things on layovers – different cultures, different people, and different foods. My primary goal in life is to continue to have experiences, so that when I’m older, I can say that I’ve done everything, and I’ve seen as much as I could.”

While serving customers as a flight attendant, Ming’s curious eyes were drawn to the front of the aircraft.

“Every time I stepped on the plane as a flight attendant, I always thought it would be neat to fly it,” Ming said.

Ming soon put her dream into action. Almost immediately after earning her Delta wings, she enrolled at Superior Flight School in Kennesaw, Ga. Since she was also working as a flight attendant, it took her more than four years to complete training, become a flight instructor, and receive her commercial license.

Although it wasn’t easy, Ming balanced her Delta duties with her school studies, no matter the situation.

“When I was flying overnights with Delta, other crew members would roam out into the city, but at times, I had to force myself to sit in that uncomfortable hotel chair and study,” Ming said. “If you have a goal in mind, you don’t think about it as a hardship – you accept the fact that you must make a lot of sacrifices and cherish it in the moment.”

Ming knows what it takes to juggle responsibilities and pave your own path. Without any mentors in the aviation industry to guide her, she did her own research to figure out her best route to success.

“Since I started flight training at age 31, which is later than most people, I always felt like I was behind,” Ming said. “Now looking back, I would tell others to not compare yourself to those around you and feel like you’re not where you should be. Be appreciative of where you are and how far you have come.”

Since Ming has seen both sides of flight crew operations, she has a full understanding of what happens once the door is closed, which has given her a new perspective on how crew members can best work together. And for Ming, flying is more than a job – it’s a calling.

“Even after flying all these years, I still get so excited to get inside the jet and take off for our next destination,” Ming said. “I feel like you’re always learning and challenging yourself. It’s always an adventure and never gets boring.”

©Story Endeavor

Endeavor Air, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, is the world’s largest operator of CRJ-900 aircraft. Flying as Delta Connection, Endeavor operates 124 regional jets on 700 daily flights to over 100 cities in the United States and across North America.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., Endeavor has hub operations in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Minneapolis, and New York City.

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