{"id":854,"date":"2018-07-29T14:17:58","date_gmt":"2018-07-29T19:17:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/orlandochristianflyingclub.com\/new\/?p=854"},"modified":"2018-07-29T14:36:15","modified_gmt":"2018-07-29T19:36:15","slug":"program-at-embry-riddle-university-will-fast-track-new-pilots-for-delta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandochristianflyingclub.com\/new\/2018\/07\/29\/program-at-embry-riddle-university-will-fast-track-new-pilots-for-delta\/","title":{"rendered":"Program at Embry-Riddle University will fast-track new pilots for Delta"},"content":{"rendered":"

New program fast tracks ERAU pilots<\/h1>\n
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Daytona Beach News Journal<\/div>\n
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By T. S. Jarmusz \/ tony.jarmusz@news-jrnl.com<\/p>\n

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\nPosted Jul\u00a026,\u00a02018\u00a0at\u00a06:10\u00a0PM
\nUpdated Jul\u00a026,\u00a02018\u00a0at\u00a06:19\u00a0PM\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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DAYTONA BEACH \u2014 Imagine having not finished college and being offered a job that could pay more than $200,000 a year.<\/p>\n

A new Delta Air Lines program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University does just that.<\/p>\n

Delta\u2019s Propel Pilot Career Path Program, allows students at ERAU and other schools to fast track their careers as commercial pilots at a major airline.<\/p>\n

While it typically takes flight school graduates about five years to break into a coveted major airline, Delta\u2019s program shortens that timeframe to less than four years.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the next decade, Delta expects to hire more than 8,000 pilots to staff the thousands of daily flights it operates around the world as current pilots approach mandatory retirement age,\u201d Delta Air Lines flight operations pilot outreach manager Brent Knoblauch said Tuesday. \u201cDelta is launching the Delta Propel Pilot Career Path Program to identify, select and develop the next generation of pilots.\u201d<\/p>\n

The program bodes well for the world\u2019s looming pilot shortage, where between now and 2037, airlines will need to replace 635,000 commercial pilots worldwide, according to a 2018 Boeing report.<\/p>\n

In the U.S., low numbers of new pilots have collided with the FAA\u2019s mandatory pilot retirement policy, which expels pilots out of the skies when they turn 65. And as a large generation of baby boomers approach 65, the attrition will worsen, leaving the nation\u2019s airlines to hire 127,000 pilots, the report says.<\/p>\n

Part of the problem is the length of time it takes to become a pilot.<\/p>\n

The FAA requires flight school graduates to log 1,500-hours of flight time, or 1,000 hours for ERAU students, before they can join the ranks as an official commercial pilot, and many graduates work as flight instructors for about a year before they can move on to a regional commercial airline. From there, pilots fly smaller jets at regional carriers for a few years before trying to break into a major airline like Delta that will offer larger jets \u2014 and much large paychecks, said Ken Byrnes, chair of ERAU\u2019s Flight Department.<\/p>\n

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Despite the years of hard work, there\u2019s no guarantee of making it to the big leagues, Byrnes said.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Delta\u2019s program changes that, too, offering pilots three direct paths to get to a major carrier. Pilots can fly in the Air National Guard or Reserve, fly for a Delta Connection carrier, or work in a job-share opportunity where students fly Delta\u2019s private jets while serving as flight instructors at ERAU or other partner schools, Knoblauch said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuccessful pilots will progress through these career routes in 42 months or less, offering students the most accelerated and defined timeline to a mainline carrier,\u201d Knoblauch said.<\/p>\n

While other airlines have similar programs at ERAU, Delta\u2019s is unique in that it offers a shorter timeline to go from a smaller regional carrier to a major airline, Byrnes said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo get through four years at the university and then work your way to major airline without any kind of pathway or guarantee is a risk, and having these types of agreements takes that risk off the students and it certainly increases their motivation while they\u2019re in school,\u201d Byrnes said.<\/p>\n

The program also provides students with mentors, where a trained Delta pilot will regularly discuss, \u201ctheir progress, questions about the career, and discuss professional development topics including leadership and crew resource management,\u201d Knoblauch said.<\/p>\n

In addition, at least once a semester, Delta pilots will host on-campus \u201cDelta Days\u201d which include presentations on professional piloting careers and lifestyle and interactive academic sessions to build students\u2019 aviation knowledge, Knoblauch said.<\/p>\n

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ERAU\u2019s Prescott, Ariz. campus also will participate in the program. Other partner universities include:<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n