Rosella Marie Bjornson

Rosella Marie Bjornson was born on July 13, 1947, in Lethbridge, Alberta. She was raised on her parents' farm near Champion and attended high school in nearby Vulcan. She showed enthusiasm for flying at an early age because of her father's interest. Ken Bjornson learned to fly in 1946 and took his daughter flying in his Aeronca Champ from the time she was a very young child.

Bjornson had her first flying lesson on her seventeenth birthday at the Lethbridge Flying Club and completed her Private Pilot's Licence in two months. She attended the University of Calgary where she majored in geography and geology. During this time she accumulated flying hours and studied for her Commercial Licence which she obtained in 1967. In the same year, she experienced competitive flying by entering the Alberta Centennial Air Race. She and her female co-pilot secured a first place finish by completing the race with the exact estimate of their flight time and within one tenth of a gallon of their fuel consumption estimate.

While on campus, Bjornson was instrumental in organizing the University of Calgary Flying Club. She also devoted time to the first group of Girl Guide Air Rangers in Calgary and started the ground work which led to the formation of an Alberta Flying Farmer Teen Chapter.

In 1969, Bjornson received her Instructor's Rating and began instructing at the Flying Club in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Within a year she had earned her Class II Instructor's Rating. On May 25, 1972, she was awarded the 89th Gold Seal Proficiency from the Royal Canadian Flying Clubs Association. While in Winnipeg, she was involved in organizing the Manitoba Chapter of The Ninety-Nines, the International Organization of Women Pilots. During her final year instructing, she devoted her spare time to training a Squadron of Air Cadets.

Rosella Bjornson and group of air cadets in Winnipeg during the summer of 1971

Teaching Air Cadets in the summer of 1971

By 1973 Bjornson had 3,500 hours flying time, an Air Transport Rating and a Class I Multi-Engine Instrument Rating, and applied to fly with the airlines. She was hired as First Officer by Transair, the fourth largest airline in Canada. This gave her the distinction of being the first female to be hired as First Officer in North America on scheduled jet equipment, and the first female to be hired by a commercial airline in Canada. She was the first female member of the Canadian Air Line Pilots Association (CALPA). 

In June 1977, Bjornson married Bill Pratt, a corporate pilot flying out of Winnipeg. The onset of her pregnancy in 1979 created another first in that there had been no precedent set for a pregnant pilot. She took a personal leave of absence - sick leave was not appropriate in her case - and returned t work in 1980 as First Officer on the Boeing 737 with Pacific Western Airlines (PWA) which had purchased Transair. The family moved to Edmonton and both Bjornson and her husband flew for PWA. After a second pregnancy in 1984 she was involved in discussions with Transport Canada regarding regulations dealing with pregnant pilots. Subsequently, the regulations were changed to allow a pilot who is pregnant to fly while under her doctor's supervision. Bjornson again returned to work as First Officer on the Boeing 737 at a new airline, Canadian Airlines International, which had been formed to merge PWA, CP Air, Eastern Provincial Airlines and Nordair.

Bjornson's husband, Bill, was also a First Officer on the Boeing 737 with Canadian Airlines and later with First Air. About once every six months the scheduling computer paired them together on a flight. They enjoyed working together and looked forward to the times when they were booked to work the same flights. They were often asked if problems ever occurred in flight deck management. It was because they were so well trained as professional pilots, and each carried out his/her specific duties, that conflicts did not arise.

Rosella Bjornson's first flight as a First Officer on F28 with Transair
June 1973, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Captain Rosella Bjornson in cockpit of 737. 

Left to Right: Rosella Bjornson, Doug Rose (Chief Pilot Transair), Arthur Mauro (President Transair), and the Vice-President of Transair. June 1973. First flight as First Officer. 

Bjornson received a number of prestigious awards in 1988. In June she was inducted into the International Forest of Friendship in Atchison, Kansas, U.S.A. A Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of her leadership in the activities of the organization was presented to her by the International Organization of Ninety-Nines in Oklahoma City, U.S.A. In October of that year, she received a Pioneering Award from the Western Canada Aviation Museum in Winnipeg.

In the winter of 1990 Bjornson became the first female Captain with Canadian Airlines International and the first woman to be promoted to Captain with a major Canadian air carrier.

Throughout her career Bjornson has made a valuable and ongoing contribution to the youth of the nation by participating, in school career days. In 1990 she was featured in a poster campaign by the Alberta Government, 'Dream/Dare/Do', encouraging young people to set goals and strive towards them.

Rosella served on the Board of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame and for several years seved as Executive Director of the Hall. Rosella and her husband live at Twin Island Lake Air Park east of Edmonton where she keeps her Cessna 170. In 2014, Rosella was featured on a Postage Stamp issued by Canada Post for the 99's.

Rosella Marie Bjornson was inducted as a Member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 1997 at a ceremony held at Calgary, Alberta.