TULSA, Okla. – Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology and American Eagle Airlines have established a Pilot Pipeline Program.
“An alliance between Spartan College and American Eagle Airlines means a student with aspirations to serve as a pilot for a major airline is now a step closer to realizing his or her career goals,” said Peter Harris, president and CEO of Spartan College. “This partnership means Spartan can do what it does best – recruit, train, and retain pilots as a workforce pipeline for the American Eagle network and for one of our community’s largest employers – American Airlines Group.”
The Pilot Pipeline Program provides Spartan students the opportunity for employment as a commercial pilot at American Eagle Airlines. Students selected to enter the American Eagle First Officer Training Program will receive a $10,000 signing bonus for a two-year commitment and a guaranteed interview with American Airlines for future career development.
“American Eagle Airlines created the Pilot Pipeline Program to ensure we have the quality and qualified pilots we need for future operations,” said Nicolas Brice, director of pilot recruitment for American Eagle Airlines. “This is an important initiative for our company that also helps program participants gain the experience they need to start career as commercial airline pilot while easing the financial burden of doing so.”
The pilot training program at Spartan College features a “flipped” learning model, in which students are in a practice-as-you-learn environment. This enables them to get in the air flying as quickly as their first week.
In addition, the FAA has authorized Spartan’s degree graduates in flight to take the ATP with reduced flight hour minimums. As a result, Spartan College students can work as a CFI after only 12 months while obtaining their associate or bachelor degrees. A bachelor degree graduate will have obtained approximately 1,200 flight hours and be qualified to obtain their restricted ATP license in just under three years, officials note.
For more information: Spartan.edu
Now that Eagle can’t coerce the pilots they have to work under the conditions it wants, a little out of the box thinking might provide them a way to fill their cockpits with a workforce that may not know any better.