Why this Qantas pilot’s inbox got bombarded
A Qantas pilot was left shocked when her inbox suddenly became flooded with emails from fellow pilots around the world wanting in on her side project.
Susan McHaffie was overwhelmed with gratitude when her inbox was flooded with messages from global pilots wanting in on her campaign.
The 55-year-old breast cancer survivor is a QantasLink captain who is behind FlyPink – an employee initiative breast cancer fundraising campaign that has now gone global.
In the 10 years it’s been running, $700,000 has been raised for breast cancer research in Australia alone.
Susan, who is originally from Canada, moved to Australia in 2013 to join the QantasLink team.
Soon after, she went straight to her chief pilot and talked to him about whether it was possible to get pink epaulets onto pilots to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Susan’s aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer in the 1980s, so it was something close to her heart.
“Qantas was incredibly supportive and so we started with pink epaulets for pilots in 2015 and then we had so many cabin crew ground, ground staff and engineers wanting to get involved,” Susan told news.com.au.
“So we designed wings and pins and then few years in we worked with the National Breast Cancer Foundation and Movember.”
During the campaign’s second year, Susan decided to get checked herself, and to her shock was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“I thought you know, this is all about early detection and it would be stupid to do all of this awareness on breast cancer and not get checked myself,” she explained.
“[And] I had breast cancer. I was fortunate because it was such early detection – I was type 1 stage 1.
“I went through surgery and radiation here in Sydney with phenomenal doctors at RPA and I am now eight years clear.”
Breast cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia and the most
common cancer among females. 1 in 7 women diagnosed in their lifetime and 1 in 550 men diagnosed in their lifetime.
Susan said the initiative has touched people for different reasons, including fellow pilot Rory McVeigh who has a personal connection to breast cancer within his family. For the past seven years he has helped Susan really drive the initiative which has turned into a global movement.
There’s now more than 160 airlines from 35 different countries taking part including Air France, Cathay Pacific and Condor, as well as Australia’s other main passenger airlines Virgin and Rex.
Susan said not long after she launched it, she started getting bombarded with emails, calls and Facebook messages from pilots around the world who wanted to get involved.
“As soon as campaign started and social media got involved I had messages coming in from pilots around the world,” she said.
This year not only marks FlyPink’s 10th anniversary but also eight years since Susan was cleared of breast cancer.
FlyPink runs across the month of October and will see thousands of Qantas Group employees swap their normal gold epaulets (shoulder stripes) for pink epaulets, as well as pink wings, ribbons, and caps.
Funds are raised through sales of pink merchandise and other activities held in October.
The campaign will culminate in a charity cocktail gala on Saturday, October 25 in partnership with the National Breast Cancer Foundation, which will continue to raise vital funds for cancer research.
“Sue, like many of our incredible supporters, has used her own lived experience with breast cancer to create something to benefit others who are impacted by breast cancer,” National Breast Cancer Foundation CEO Dr Cleola Anderiesz, said.
“With Qantas’ unwavering support, it has been inspiring to see Sue and Rory build a global movement in the aviation industry, spanning 35 countries and over 160 airlines, to raise much needed funds and awareness for world-class breast cancer research.”