Thanking Women Who Went Before Her She Encourages The Next Generation She’d never been on an airplane when she decided, at age 12, that she wanted to fly them. Today, Capt. Chreston Wilson is about to be the first woman to ever be United Airlines’ most-senior pilot. She’s been flying for the airline for 41 years, and a captain for 33. “I never set out to be the first. I just wanted to go fly airplanes and do it to the best of my ability,” Wilson told People magazine. “But I also see that this is very significant. It represents progress and persistence, and I have to give thanks to the women that came before me.”
