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United Airlines launches a pilot academy to address staffing shortage
** VIDEO ** Amid a pilot shortage, United Airlines is helping to grow the next generation of pilots with its Aviate Academy. The new initiative will increase the number of women and people of color flying planes. Errol Barnett has the details. (www.cbsnews.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
I can remember seeing an add in Flying Magazine in 1960. United Airlines was recruiting private pilots to attend their academy in Denver. United would pay for your training from commercial/instrument rating all the way thru ATP. It included training on the Lear Jet. The add read "earn one million dollars in your lifetime. Come fly United." There was a critical shortage of pilots back in the 60's also. The Viet-Nam war sucked up all the available pilots out of college and the left over WW II pilots didn't meet the needs of the rapidly expanding airline industry at that time.
The problem is not many people want to pay $80k plus to get a pilot's license to go work jobs that don't even pay half that. Sure airline pilots get paid well but you need to get to 1500hrs doing "something" before that can happen.
It's a better investment to return ratio than 4 years of college & deep into 6 figures just to come out of it and start at 40k a year.
It sounds about the same to me. Lot of money up front for about the same job stability and pay potential.
80k in less than 1 year & start working, or over 200k over the span of 4 years, spending half the year not even being at school and a quarter of the year drunk - just to end up managing a mcdonalds after?
Not the same at all. Get to fly at school, get to fly for pay right after school. Gee - hard choice. :)
Not the same at all. Get to fly at school, get to fly for pay right after school. Gee - hard choice. :)
Time for an update SR. First year at UA now $80-100. Even Skywest is starting at $60K plus bonuses. Captain’s pay after 5 years is $350-400K.
Yeah but you are not landing in the bigs straight out of school.... you will be flying regionals for 3-5 first. You're not getting 80k there.
SkyWest pays their Captains $80k, yup.
you don't come out of flight school or even academy as a Captain
Before that you will be in the GA Arene flying Corporate Single or Multi Engine and then move up to King Air's or similiar.
Not really. Top students at places like Western Michigan (not the most expensive school for this) get into “Propel” (or United’s equivalent), and have a FO slot guaranteed (assuming hiring is “on”, then guarantee kicks in when hiring turned back on). Everyone at WMU Aviation gets into a FO job at 1000 hrs. Graduates usually have about 1200 if they worked as an instructor during college. The days of struggling between collage and a FO job are really over, at least for people who learn in a Part 141 university program.