Photos: Amalia Osborne.
She’s the down-to-earth farm girl from Northland who’s now flying high as an international pilot.
This month, LeeAnn Yare, of Ngāpuhi descent, is set to become the youngest female long-haul captain and the first Māori female captain of a Boeing 787 in New Zealand.
But she’s not just the master of the skies. The talented 53-year-old is also well-known for being an interiors stylist and writer, book author, small business owner and has appeared on former TV shows Trading Houses, Mitre 10 Dream Home and Good Morning.
She’s also a “rugby mum” of two teenage boys, Tyler, 18, and Dylan, 16, with pilot husband Glen, 50, who regularly shares her multi-faceted life – and quick dinner recipes – on social media.
LeeAnn welcomes the Weekly into her plant-filled Auckland bungalow for a chat around her three-metre-long vintage dining table (it was originally an old laundry table) to tell why her ethos has always been to say yes and navigate the rest later.
Tell us something about your childhood…
I grew up on a farm in Doubtless Bay and milked the cows every night after school. When you live rurally, you learn to be independent at a young age because you have to be. I learnt to drive the tractor when I was about 10 and rode motorbikes. I was runner-up to the Dux at Taipa Area School, but our sons tease me because there were only seven of us in the Seventh Form, so they reckon it wasn’t very hard.
How did your parents, Robyn and Phil, influence you?
My parents have always worked extremely hard, and have always been great role models to both my brother and me. They taught us the value of money and how to work hard to achieve your goals. We didn’t travel much as a family, so I didn’t leave the country until I was a pilot. My dad had always encouraged us to not limit ourselves and dream big because everything was possible.
Can you remember your first time on a plane?
Yes, it was from Auckland to Kaitaia. I had been down in Auckland for something and I was going home on a Fokker F-27 Friendship. And the next time I was on a plane, I flew it myself! I was 16. It was an introductory flight in a small two-seater Cessna with an instructor, and it was pretty exciting doing the take-off and landing. It’s something I recommend all the time if people tell me their teenager is interested in flying. Get them an introductory flight – it’s an amazing birthday present.
Around six percent of pilots worldwide are females – were you the only one on your flying course?
Three of us who trained at a similar time all got our first airline jobs together. We’re still really good friends and even though we’ve had different career paths, we all work for the same airline now.
Have you experienced any pushback as a woman going through the ranks as a pilot?
There’s always pushback. I always get asked how long I’ve been a flight attendant. But when you are a female in a male-dominated industry, you don’t speak out about it very often. It certainly hasn’t been easy at times and it’s not until I reflect back now that I realise how tough some of it has actually has been. When I started learning to fly, we pretty much had to be twice as good as the guys to even get a foot in the door for an interview. That was the reality. I went to a casual interview for a flying position. The GM of that company sat across the desk from me and said, “A female pilot will never be as good as a male one.” I replied, “That’s your opinion, but I completely disagree.” I didn’t go to work there but it wasn’t easy to speak up about that stuff back then because the moment you did, you’d never get a job anywhere.
Do you feel comfortable speaking up about the inequality now?
Things have definitely improved and I think when I turned 50, I really found my voice. I’m more confident to take on the fallout now. And I’m comfortable advocating for other female pilots and what changes need to be made to continue to increase the numbers. We do still get stared at when we walk through the terminal, but I just give everyone a big smile back.
Your sons must feel really proud of you…
I think so. Recently, Dylan and the touch rugby boys were at Pakuranga for the open men’s division final. I was flying into Auckland and then racing over to watch the game. As it happened, with the wind direction, the approach brought us directly over them as we were coming in to land. Glen was there and knew it was me, so started videoing. I posted the video on Instagram later and in the background you hear a boy say, “Is that your mum?” and when Dylan replied yes, they’re all like “Damn! That’s aura!” It was pretty funny to hear the conversation played back later.
How did you meet Glen?
I’d seen him around on the tarmac. I was based in New Plymouth at the time and he was coming to be based there too. Mutual friends told me we would hit it off and we did. We had our honeymoon in New York 19 years ago and it’s one of the destinations I can’t wait to fly to again.
I love how your home has pretty much everything on display. Describe your style…
I’m not a “trend person”. I have a “do what you love” philosophy. I feel your home should show the personalities of the people who live there, not one that looks like a catalogue. And I have a mantra that if you have treasures you love, they shouldn’t be tucked away. Nothing should be so precious that you can never use it. When we moved in here, the entire house was beige. We ended up painting the lounge white, then black and its walls are now a dusky pink shade [Resene Blanched Pink from the Karen Walker Paints collection]. It’s the second shade of pink we’ve had and the boys have always loved it. Taste and style evolves, and that’s totally okay. While I love colour in my home, my style has definitely morphed from brighter hues to more dusky understated colour.
How did you begin a side-hustle in interiors and writing for international magazines?
I’ve always loved fashion, interiors and design. If I hadn’t been a pilot, I would’ve studied architecture. When we started renovating our house, I entered a monthly competition in Your Home & Garden magazine and won. Through that, I got chatting to then-editor Brenda Ward and mentioned I’d like to work for them if the opportunity came up. She asked me if I’d like to write a feature, so I thought, “I’ll say yes and work out how to do it later.” I’d never written as a journalist, but that freelance work grew to working for top interiors magazines here, Australia and the UK – something I’m pretty proud of.
And you went on to write two best-selling interiors books!
The most important thing I discovered is, if you’re passionate about something, look to create opportunities to make it happen. What you lack in qualifications, you can make up for in life experience or other skills. Just say yes and figure it out as you go.
What did you learn from owning your retail store Collected for 10 years?
That it’s way, way harder than anybody thinks it’s going to be. Even if you have a great idea and a real point of difference, you’ve got to continuously evolve. People come out of the woodwork and start doing similar things. Retail is hard and more now than it ever has been. A spine injury and multiple lockdowns in 2020 meant I really just ran out of the energy a small retail business needs.
Now that you’ve been promoted to captain, how long do you see yourself flying for?
The retirement age for long-haul pilots is generally 65. Travel and continual shift work is not easy on the body. While I love my job, there’s a lot that’s not glamorous about it. After double spine surgeries, health and wellness has really become a priority for me.
Are there any other goals you have?
To do a te reo course. I’m still very new in my Māori language journey and my boys are teaching me a lot as they’ve learned it since Year Nine. I’ve watched them in their journeys, studying and competing in kapa haka. Even though my dad is Māori, he grew up in a generation where it wasn’t really spoken and it wasn’t offered as a subject at school.
What’s your no-fail recipe that’s always a hit?
Marshmallow rice bubble slab is the most requested online, followed by my nacho bake. I call myself a cheat cook or a cheat baker. I love anything that will shave time off what I’m trying to achieve.
You can follow LeeAnn’s flight, food and style content on her Instagram page @leeannyare
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