Arriving in Milan under the cover of the night, Porco Rosso is greeted at Piccolo S.P.A. by Piccolo and his 17-year-old granddaughter Fio. Piccolo examines the wreckage and suggests it’d be faster to get a new plane. Porco Rosso wants to keep this plane.

He needs 15 more knots, he explains. He wants to fight Curtis and he will need more speed. As they sit in Piccolo’s office to tabulate the bills, Porco Rosso hands over stacks of paper bills. These papers are not worth much nowadays, Piccolo comments, and they won’t cover all the repairs. Piccolo will create a tab for Porco Rosso.

When Porco Rosso realizes that all of Piccolo’s sons have gone away from the city to find jobs and that Fio will be the one to redesign and rebuild his plane, he starts to collect his money. No offense, but he prefers to find someone else for the job. Fio enters the room and asks if it is because she is young or because she is a woman. Both, Porco Rosso replies. Not one to give up, Fio asks, what is the requirement to be a good pilot? Experience? No, Porco Rosso replies. Inspiration. And so, Fio convinces Porco Rosso to give her a chance.

Next morning, Porco Rosso wakes up to see Fio was hard at work the entire night at the drafting table. He is impressed with her work and he accepts her as his seaplane’s designer.

Porco Rosso soon sees the crew that will be working on his plane. All the males have left the city in search of work, and so his entire crew will be women. They need all the money they can get Piccolo explains. As they all get to work, it is quickly apparent they are hard working and skilled.