2025 Alumni Honors: Jill Newby, ’83
Before airlines were ready for women in the cockpit, Jill (Erickson) Newby, ’83, was ready to fly.
Forty years later, she’s one of United’s longest-serving pilots and among the first 30 women hired by the company.
Jill’s career didn’t take off right away.
“I literally wrote to all the airlines, asking for some direction on how to be a pilot,” she said.
They all sent her applications … to be a flight attendant.
After graduating from UND and interning at FedEx, Jill got a shot at United. “During the interview, they asked me about John Odegard. I said, ‘Great, call him!’ I knew they loved the UND program.”
The aviation program, once dubbed the “Harvard of the airways” by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, stood out for its structure and sense of community. “Everybody helped each other,” Jill said. “It wasn’t a competitive environment.”
United hired Jill in 1985. She credits to UND’s strong reputation and supportive culture.
Jill, with 40 years at United, pilots flights for children traveling through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. “They seem to always pick Hawaii, and I am the lucky one that gets to help them!”
Jill’s resilience was tested years later when her husband died in a work accident, leaving her to raise their two young sons. Jill stepped away from flying for five years — but ultimately returned.
Today, Jill is United’s number one 757/767 pilot. Her seniority gives her first pick
of flights, schedules, and vacation time.
For the past decade, she’s chosen to fly from Los Angeles to Hawaii every weekday
except Wednesday, when she visits the Santa Monica Farmers Market near her Manhattan
Beach home.
When she learned she was receiving the Sioux Award for Distinguished Achievement & Leadership, Jill said. “I thought, ‘Gosh, how did they pick me?’”
To help process the moment, she called fellow trailblazer Jean (Hailey) Harper, ’79, one of the first women hired by United and a 2003 recipient.
“She was so positive and explained things that pumped up my ego a little bit,” Jill said.
Now getting ready to retire, Jill is thankful for her journey, even the turbulent parts. “It hasn’t always been easy,” she said. “But it’s the best career out there. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
