Zoey Williams soared to new heights in the world of aviation when she became Air Canada’s first Black female pilot to fly a Boeing 777.
When the 27-year-old began working for the Canadian airlines, she was the first Black female pilot to join the team. A few months ago recently made history again within the organization as a First Officer on a Boeing 777, and she got to do this alongside her father Orrett Williams, a Boeing 777 Captain at Air Canada who played a role in sparking her interest in aviation, according to Black News.
Williams spent her childhood catching many flights and living overseas in Europe, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and the Middle East according to an Instagram post by Elevate Aviation. She began her flying journey when she was 15 and by the age of 16, the young airwoman earned her first license.
“It was quite an interesting upbringing,” she said in an interview with her college alma mater, Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University. “I grew up on planes.”
After her father suggested that Williams take an introductory flight when she was still a teen to start the process of becoming a pilot, she took on the challenge in a Cessna. It unexpectedly took a turn for the worse.
“I had traveled commercially and at the airline level as a passenger for my whole life,” she told ERAU. “But in that small plane, I was terrified. My knees were shaking, it was bumpy, and my hands were sweating. I went home and I said, ‘I’ll never do that again.'”
The Ontario native wanted to dive more into her interest in aircraft after graduating high school, so she furthered her education in aviation engineering due to her hesitation about becoming a pilot because of the inconsistent schedule in addition to previous her negative flying experience, per the ERAU sitdown. This led her to secure an Advanced Diploma in Aviation Flight Management and a bachelor’s in Aeronautics and Aviation Management. Although she was in school, she eventually dared to overcome the fear that held her back from getting her official wings. She joined a flight training program and became a certified flight instructor at 19 years old.
Since then, Williams has held multiple roles in the industry like “flying the Beechcraft 1900 in challenging conditions, before making her mark as a First Officer for Sky Regional Airlines and later transitioning to Air Transat,” per BN. Despite facing some challenges during the pandemic, she sought to continue expanding her knowledge and earned an MBA in Aviation and International Business from Embry-Riddle. During this time she also launched a short-term rental business and flew a Boeing 737 for Flair Airlines.
Her illustrious aviation career has landed in videos by her current employer, Air Canada, the Top 20 Under 40 by Wings Magazine, and the Elevate Aviation 2023 Women of Inspire, according to ERAU. Amid all the accomplishments, she hasn’t given up on her passion for music as she’s performing as a singer with the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. She’s now working on a book titled, Go Where You Belong, which she hopes motivates the youth to go after their dreams.
“If you have a burning desire to do something, don’t bury it,” Williams shared with ERAU. “Keep your focus, build your networks, share your goals and show your passion in everything you do. That’s how you can end up doing things you love day in and day out.”
