United to train 5,000 pilots by 2030, half of whom will be women or minorities | New

United Airlines will train 5,000 new pilots over the next ten years through its “Aviate” pilot recruitment program, at least half of whom will be women and people of color.

The Chicago-based carrier also said on April 6 that he and JP Morgan Chase will each provide $ 1.2 million in scholarships this year to help fund pilot training for candidates who might otherwise be in need. struggling to pay for their studies. Additionally, United will partner with financial institutions to give Aviate students access to flight training loans, which can cost $ 100,000 or more.

The program is designed to provide United with a strong pipeline of pilots for years to come, as the industry struggles to tackle an expected shortage of cockpit crew.

“We had a shortage of pilots before the pandemic. After the pandemic, we will still need skilled and exceptional people on our flight decks, and that’s one way to get them there faster, ”said Carole Hopson, United First Officer and Woman of Color. She adds that the program offers a variety of candidates a “visible career path.”

Last week, United made the news with plans to resume recruiting pilots. The airline intends to hire 300 pilots who either had a new hiring class date that was canceled, or received a conditional job offer that was canceled due to the sharp drop in the passenger demand last year.

Other U.S. airlines have since revealed plans to bring back pilots – measures meant to meet an expected increase in passenger demand.

UNITED ‘AVIATE’

United launched its ‘Aviate’ pilot training program in 2019, aiming to train up to 10,000 new pilots in ten years, as mandatory retirements are expected to reduce the number of airline cockpit crews . In February 2020, the carrier purchased a flight school in Phoenix, which it renamed United Aviate Academy, where pilot training is to take place.

At the time, airlines warned of a severe pilot shortage in the decades to come. “Aviate” had been United’s response to the exhaustion of the pilot pipeline.

The coronavirus crisis and the near-shutdown of the industry in 2020 disappointed those plans, as carriers downsized networks, sent planes into long-term storage and downsized staff.

Some industry players have estimated that the recovery of the airline industry could take five years or more. But this recovery is accelerating now and many passenger carriers are scrambling to reactivate crew and aircraft.

United’s commitment to ensuring that half of the pilot candidates are women or minorities is remarkable. Only about 5% of all commercial pilot certificate holders in the United States are women, while non-white pilots make up a portion of the ranks.

“My way [to aviation] was hijacked, ”says Hopson, for whom aviation is a third career. She began her pilot training at the age of 36. “I don’t want the next generation of people who look like me to wait that long.”

United want to make sure it taps into a “deep talent pool”, not excluding candidates who have the aptitude and desire to become commercial pilots. The airline is seeking to “open the door to a lucrative airline pilot career” to a more diverse group of applicants. It will partner with historically black colleges and universities, as well as high schools, to quickly identify and recruit top talent, he says.

“We need to make sure that talented and motivated men and women and people of color who are interested in this career have the opportunity to access this career,” the company says.

The Academy plans to start training a class of 20 students in the third quarter, with degrees in the first half of 2022. United plans to enroll 100 students in the program this year.

PILOT SHORTAGE

Before the global health crisis, airlines had long warned of an impending pilot shortage, while encouraging more young people to take the plunge. The long, arduous and expensive journey to a trade certificate has put a career out of reach for many.

The path to becoming an airline pilot in the United States has become more rigorous following a 2013 rule which, in most cases, requires commercial pilots to have – in addition to their certificates – at least 1500 hours of total flight time. before being eligible to join a passenger. or freight carrier, compared to 250 hours previously. Recurrent training is also required to keep this certificate valid.

Pilot training – including private and commercial certificates – can cost $ 100,000. This sum takes the candidate through the initial training phases to approximately 250 hours of total flight time. Then, many applicants earn instructor certificates and teach for two to three years, during which time they can register enough hours to qualify for an airline role.

Amid the continuing industry recession, hundreds of pilots have left the airlines, possibly not to return. Indeed, during the first months of the pandemic, some airlines and pilot unions encouraged future aviators to pursue other careers, warning of the uncertainty and instability of the sector.

The mandatory retirement age of 65 will also reduce the ranks of pilots in the decades to come.

In November, with the crisis far from over, Canadian training and simulator provider CAE raised eyebrows when it said the industry would need 264,000 pilots globally over the next ten years.

While that figure has prompted the pilot community to rebel, the same general view is supported by a recent study released by management consulting firm Oliver Wyman, which said that a looming shortage – even delayed by the pandemic – could be felt as early as this year.

CAE said that by 2029, airlines will employ 426,000 pilots in total, while Oliver Wyman’s estimate is around 417,000.

“The more important question is not whether a pilot shortage will reappear, but when it does and how big the gap between supply and demand will be. Based on a modest recovery scenario, we believe that a global pilot shortage will emerge in some regions by 2023 at the latest and most likely before, ”says the consulting firm.

Oliver Wyman says the global gap between supply and demand will be at least 34,000 pilots by 2025, and maybe 50,000. Most of these jobs will be in Asia-Pacific, North America and in the Middle-East.

“Ultimately, the impact of leaves, retirements and no-shows will create very real challenges, even for some of the biggest carriers,” he adds.