Career Pilot: Fast track
Cleared direct to American Airlines
As the pilot shortage spooled up, regional airlines, especially, felt the personnel pinch. And as the majors continue to lose senior captains to retirement, first officers graduate to the left seat, and those first officer positions are filled by captains who were flying regional jets. The regional jet first officers move to the captains’ chairs and the first officer slots are filled by—well, there’s the problem. Not enough bright-eyed future flying pros have been recruited to satisfy the demand, and that need will accelerate well into the future.
Regional airlines such as SkyWest, Endeavor, and Horizon have been proactive for several years reaching out to flying talent at the nation’s flying universities, colleges, academies, and flight schools. Trainees at these institutions are virtually drafted into a regional carrier as soon as the logbook tallies enough hours for an airline transport pilot certificate.
Even the major airlines have heeded the call. No big league company in the United States has gone quite as far as Qantas, which is building its own academy from the ground up in Australia. However, the very first legacy airline to launch an aggressive recruitment effort is American Airlines.
In mid-2018, American Airlines launched its AA Cadet Academy. It is a program that, upon successful completion, will feed a graduate to a guaranteed interview at one of its regional subsidiaries: Envoy, PSA, or Piedmont. Pilots will be offered a job as an American Airlines first officer once company seniority at the regionals allows a move up.
The program takes student pilots up through certificates and ratings on their way to airline transport pilot certificate minimum hours. During the instruction phase, which lasts up to 18 months, students earn their private pilot certificate, instrument rating, commercial certificate, multiengine rating, and flight instructor certificates. The experience phase lasts up to 24 months and involves participants working as a flight instructor and building flight hours while staying connected with a Cadet Academy mentor.
American has partnered with four training organizations with a price structure that varies from $72,855 to $89,165. The price of the programs is fixed and includes all training, materials, and uniforms. Once accepted into the academy, participants can apply for a career loan from Discover Student Loans.
To apply for the academy, submit an application online. Top applicants will be asked to submit a video interview. Then, select candidates will be invited to Fort Worth, Texas, for further testing and face-to-face interviews. If accepted, this could be the first step toward a long and rewarding career with one of the industry’s premier legacy airlines.
- North America needs more than 10,000 new pilots each year to keep pace with air service demand and retirements.
- 5,597 original airline transport pilot certificates were issued by the FAA in 2018.
- Pilot certificates issued by the FAA have decreased more than 60 percent since 1980.
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