American based United Airlines, has taken a step to address a shortage of pilots. The airline has started a fresh program that will not just recruit, but also train and hire pilot candidates that might help to address the shortage. The announcement was made on February 5, 2020 that it has joined hands and purchased the Westwind School of Aeronautics in Phoenix, Arizona. It will be making it as an extension of the Aviate Pilot development program.
It was in 2019, when the Aviate program was launched as a part of development and recruitment program, which offers a direct access to a job with the airline for the pilots who are undergoing training. The airline is accepting applications from people who are starting from the beginning and also those who are with the private pilots’ licenses while working on obtaining the flight hours and also those who are flying for the regional airline.
The students in the program will be a part of the flight school, who will then be rebranded as a United facility in the month of September or around it. The pilots who will pass out from the program will get a freeway to a job at any of the regional carriers of United. Eventually, the candidate will be recruited as an employee of the United Airlines after he/she has graduated and has fulfilled the needed flight hours. Managing director of the pilot strategy at United, Captain Curtis Brunjes said that the current staff of the school would be retained.
Brunjes added that it is a program that has primary training facility and accepts pilots who do not have any flying hours helps them to build their flying hours with the academy, who can eventually become an airline pilot. It has also been said that the candidates will get seven FAA certifications during the course of training. The airline has also said that it will also offer financing options that will help new pilots enroll in to training.
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