By Rebecca Drew
MEET the glamourous female pilot who flies private planes for celebrities and politicians for her day job.
Stunning pictures show first officer, Alejandra Manríquez Pérez (30) from Mexico City, Mexico sitting in the cockpit of her Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft. Other photos show Alejandra posing with the celebrities she meets through her work including pop band Maroon 5, football legend Cristiano Ronaldo and F1 driver, Sergio Pérez.
Other envy-inducing shots show Alejandra, who didn’t leave her home country until she was 21, visiting some of the world’s most notable landmarks including the Eiffel Tower in France, Rome’s Colosseum and Milan’s Cathedral.
“As a kid, I knew that I wanted to do something different, I never had the chance to travel around because my parents struggled with money,” said Alejandra.
“I started working at the airport in customer service for private flights when I was eighteen and I completely fell in love with planes and the fascinating aviation world.
“I was twenty-one when I first went out of Mexico when I applied to study at a flight school in California.
“I wanted to see the world but I also loved the adrenaline of flying an amazing beautiful machine through the sky to get myself to each new place.”
Alejandra has visited 39 countries so far and is still counting, she insists that she never compromises the safety of a flight when she takes cockpit pictures.
“Most of the images show the great places I get to visit, breath-taking cockpit views and some of the interesting flight procedures I do in this unique job, of course whenever I take these pictures, I don’t compromise the safety of the flight,” she explained.
“As part of the job and doing private flights, the type of passengers I fly are usually celebrities, business men, sports figures and politicians.
“I do have a couple of favourite places but to be honest, the best place is the next city or country where I’m going for the very first time.
“There is nothing like the feeling of being somewhere in the world for the first time, you get to feel the vibe of the place, the taste of the food and the richness of the history and the culture in a very special way.”
Alejandra says that she hopes to encourage people to follow their dreams.
“I would love to inspire new generations to pursue their dreams and to live by doing what they love and feel passionate about whatever that is,” she added.
“There is only one life and there is no reason for you to settle for less.”
For more information see www.instagram.com/babywingz_pilot
