PNG AIR CELEBRATES 35 YEARS

 

JENNIFER'S LONG YEARS of COMMITMENT & LOYALTY 

First female load master for MBA now PNG Air Lae sales and reservation manager Jennifer Ahab.

By MAXINE KAMUS

The airline industry is a highly technical and advanced field.

Over the centuries since Orville and Wilbur Wright became airborne, aerial flight has evolved from simple biplanes to cutting edge revolutionary technology jet engines that fly at the edge of space.

As airplanes have become bigger and better and safer with capabilities beyond the wildest dreams of the Wright Brothers, the sky, as they say, has become the limit for the aspirations of many bold men and women.

With the evolution of air travel, more and more opportunities are becoming available for women to be part of the progress of the industry.

Nowadays in PNG, there are more female pilots, engineers, flight stewards, air traffic controllers, avionics and aerospace engineers, loadmasters, refuelers, security to the helpful ever smiling front desk officers.

Enter one size 28 lady from Milne Bay and history was made in PNG.

Airlines have come and gone. Some, like Airlines PNG, have upgraded their fleet and focus with the technology that keeps changing, to meet the challenges of air travel in our country. 

In the 1980s, two third level airlines competed for the myriad of airstrips and ports all over the country.

They were Talair, the biggest third level airline, based out of Goroka and Douglas Airways, flying out of Port Moresby. 

In the shadows was a small Alotau based operation named Milne Bay Air, more popular by its MBA acronym, with nothing more than the local populace and a few touristy sandy islands to keep it airborne. 

The year was 1987 when the Wild family decided Milne Bay needed an identity and a flying icon MBA born.

Following the demise of Douglas Air, MBA took its planes out of scenic Alotau and set up business in busy Port Moresby.

MBA also brought along its first ever female loadmaster Jennifer Ahab. 

From being the first female load master for Milne Bay Air to now being the regional Sales and Reservation manager for PNG Air Limited Lae office, 47-year-old Jennifer Ahab has clocked 25 years working with the airline company since its 1987 establishment.

Ms Ahab said she joined the airline company back in 1997 in Milne Bay and was sent to Nadzab Airport in Morobe Province to be the Load Controller and Port Manager for PNG Air Limited.

She said when she started work as the load master. As the LM, her job involved a lot of calculations, from fuel load, passenger weight, cargo load to even ensuring animals were loaded the safe way.

She even had master operating forklifts and taking safety and security courses in handling of hazardous materials.

She had o familiarize with different types of aircraft, down to memorising the length of airports and rural airstrips.

She had only male staff working under here leadership and it was a very challenging working environment for her because back then her male colleagues did not like the idea of taking orders from a female manager.

“Despite the challenges that I faced every at work, I still tried to understand my staff and my clients and as days, months and years flew by my staff saw that I was a good person and all I wanted was for all of us to get the job done.

“I eventually earned the respect and trust of my male staff and that has kept me going and this year is my 25 year of working with PNG Air,” Ms Ahab said.

She is proud to be an employee of truly proud and PNG company.

She remembers the journey has been very challenging yet interesting because she has the privilege of watching the airline  grow from operating small aircrafts only in Milne Bay province in 1987 as Milne Bay Air to now providing service to 22 ports in the country.