United Airlines began accepting applications for its flight academy on Tuesday as part of its effort to hire 10,000 pilots by 2030, as more of its aviators reach the age of 65 for retirement.
The airline announced in February 2020 that it had bought a flight school, but the Covid pandemic forced it to stop its training plans. United are now resuming plans to replenish their pilot ranks and prepare for growth as demand for travel returns. Last week, he said he would start hiring pilots again, starting with 300 candidates whose hiring process was stopped by the pandemic.
United’s flight school is designed to provide training to pilots with little or no experience. United said it wants to train 5,000 pilots and aims for half of them to be women and men of color. Just over 7% of United’s more than 12,000 pilots are women and 13% are black people, United said.
The first class of 20 pilots will begin in the third quarter, with a graduation date in the first half of 2022, United said.
A pilot walks past United Airlines planes while parked at the gates of San Francisco International Airport on April 12, 2020 in San Francisco, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
United Airlines and other airlines have stepped up pilot recruitment in recent years. Students will be able to apply for United’s Aviate recruitment program, which expands conditional job offers for candidates as they gain experience during training and work at smaller carriers. A student could take about five years from starting flight school to getting a job at United.
United declined to say how much the flight academy would cost students, but said it would fund $ 1.2 million in scholarships “to break down financial barriers that limit access to the airline’s career for generations of women and men.” color. JPMorgan Chase said it will provide another $ 1.2 million in scholarships to help increase diversity.