The aircraft is from the United Aviate Academy.
United opened a new flight school in Phoenix this week due to a pilot shortage. The airline becomes the only US carrier to own and operate a flight school.
The newly-leased facility is 340,000 square feet and has a value of $10 million. The United Aviate Academy is located in a prime flight training region with year-round favorable weather and a lot of smaller airfields.
United CEO Scott Kirby told AirlineGeeks at the training facility's unveil event that the company expects to train 500 pilots a year through the facility.
Scott Kirby is the CEO of United. Ryan Ewing is the author of AirlineGeeks.
The space will be shared by United and Lufthansa, who also train pilots at the airport. The company will operate a fleet of aircraft.
The first class of 30 students started at the academy in December of 2021.
The new flight training facility is a strategic move for the Chicago-based airline who notes that 100 regional jets are grounded due to the ongoing pilot shortage. Several operators serve the United Express brand, which operates shorter regional routes throughout North America.
Regional carriers are often used as a stepping stone for pilots to get a competitive number of hours between early training and joining a mainline carrier.
Ryan Ewing is the owner of AirlineGeeks.
Kirby said that it won't have a big impact on the regionals in the short term. The long-term is more important than the business imperative of addressing the pilot shortage.
The opportunity to create a diverse workforce in pilots, and to create a level of training from day one that people that spend their career at United have the customer service and the safety culture that we want built-in from the first, is more than that.
Hundreds of new jobs are expected to be created by the new facility. 80% of the airline's first class was made up of women or people of color.
According to a recent press release, the airline's new academy received 7,500 applications in six months. The number has gone up to 9,600 since applications opened.
Ribbon cutting event held for the United Aviate Academy.
United has the most diverse group of pilots with 20% women or people of color.
Bradley Mims, deputy administrator of the FAA, spoke at the event.
Some of the first students to join United's Aviate Academy.
Kirby doesn't think about the academy as a return on investment but as the right thing to do.
We need to train the next generation of pilots, we have an opportunity to address diversity, and we have an opportunity to train them so that they are familiar with the customer service and safety culture that we want them to have for the next 40 years.
The academy is expected to teach students early in various emergency scenarios and upset recovery training, which are usually done in a simulation or military aviation environment.
There is a plane at the United Aviate Academy.
According to the academy's website, United and JP Morgan Chase have joined forces to offer $2.4 million in financial aid to the best and brightest talent. The company is working with a number of non-profits to offer scholarships.
We are paying for every student to get their private pilot certificate on United. Everyone is being sponsored by United. There is no cost for the private. 9,600 people applied for the Aviate Academy, according to United's Managing Director of Aviate and Pilot Strategy.
They have a loan product after that. We have a loan product and we are trying to get a better one. They will pay for the rest of the training after private. We are not making a margin on it. We have to do a net cost. We need to give them the first part for free, do the rest at a cost, and make sure we have a good loan product to help people afford it and graduate.
United joins a group of airlines that offer similar programs to speed up the pilot flow process.
Kirby told the academy's students that once they get their supersonic planes, they will be the captains.
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Ryan founded AirlineGeeks.com back in February 2013 and has amassed considerable experience in the aviation sector. His work has been featured in several publications and news outlets, including CNN, WJLA, CNET, and Business Insider. During his time in the industry, he's worked in roles pertaining to airport operations and customer service while holding a B.S. in Air Transportation Management from Arizona State University along with pursuing a concurrent MBA and law program. Ryan has experience in several facets of the industry from behind the yoke of a Cessna 172 to interviewing airline industry executives. In addition to supporting AirlineGeeks, Ryan works full-time in the aviation industry.
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