Unique Pact Provides Defined Steps To Jobs At United, Quality Pilot Pool For Airline

Commercial aviation students at University of North Dakota’s (UND) John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences have seats waiting for them in the cockpit of industry-leading airline, United Airlines.

The UND Career Pathway Program (CPP) with United, announced Monday, offers defined steps for aviation students to become United Airlines pilots, as long as they continue to meet a set of University and airline eligibility requirements. “As we celebrate 50 years of aviation education excellence at UND, the Odegard School is very proud to offer this innovative program to our students,” said Paul Lindseth, dean of the Odegard School. “The program helps solve our ongoing need for flight instructors while providing United Airlines with experienced and well-trained first officer candidates.”

Such agreements help address the continued need for new pilots and create an additional pipeline for well-trained United Airlines pilots. Eligible UND aviation students, in turn, benefit from clear and reliable pathways to the flight decks of United Airlines and its regional partners. “The United career path program helps enable us to operate our fleet efficiently and continue to provide our customers with a safe and reliable travel experience. Additionally, it offers talented students like the ones at the University of North Dakota with the opportunity to be a part of a great team at a global airline that is focused on putting the customer at the center of everything we do,” said Captain Mike McCasky, Managing Director-Flight Training of United Airlines.

And because the program encourages more experienced student-pilots to serve as instructors, it helps UND meet the training demands of the next crop of aspiring pilots.

Once a UND student is accepted into the CPP, no further structured interview is required with United Airlines. As long as United Airlines is hiring pilots, UND students, who maintain eligibility, would be offered conditional employment with the airline. The program is slated to kick off at UND in the fall.

Applicants must be full-time students with at least two semesters in UND’s Professional Flight Program. They must have a commercial pilot certificate and instrument rating, and maintain a 3.0 grade-point average in Profession Flight Program coursework. UND students also must receive a written recommendation for the program from a Department of Aviation faculty member.

Each participating United Express partner has its own CPP requirements that pilots would have to meet to be considered for job openings with United Airlines. CPP pilots who continue to meet program criteria at the regional level eventually would be placed in United Airlines’ first available new hire class.

“This is an exciting new opportunity for our students who seek a career with a global airline,” said Kent Lovelace, professor and director of aviation industry relations at the Odegard School. “This innovative partnership with United Airlines provides the student seeking a professional piloting career a unique path that can accelerate their time to reach a major legacy airline as long as they continue to perform to the high standards that United Airlines demands.”

The UND Department of Aviation at the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences is one of the premier institutions for studies in manned and unmanned flight. With more than 1,100 commercial aviation students, the most technologically advanced simulators and the world’s largest fleet of collegiate training aircraft, the school is well known for academic excellence.

Located on the University of North Dakota campus and nearby Grand Forks International Airport -- one of the most active airfields in the nation -- the school’s state-of-the-art facilities provide UND students with a flight-training experience second to none.

(Source: UND news release. Image from file)

FMI: www.und.edu