The modern-day Blanchard first flew an aircraft when she was 19, then joined her stepfather's Belgium-based freight company as its only female pilot.
"We used to work under very extreme conditions. I was flying a very old DC-8, a four-engine plane that was built in 1962," Blanchard said.
"Very often we just ended up with only three engines left, landing in airports where there was no help, by night, in spite of power cuts and sometimes with a storm. Now, I am actually resting a little," she laughed.
Blanchard later joined an Icelandic cargo company that was leasing planes to Etihad Airways. When United Arab Emirates law was changed to enable women to sponsor their husbands for residence permits, she applied for a position at Etihad and was recruited in May 2007.
"It is a very male-dominated profession," said Captain Richard Hill, the airline's chief operations officer.
"In my career, I have flown with 10 or 15 women," he said. "To survive or get to where they are, they have to be very good at their jobs and they are exceptionally good pilots.