Republic Airways Seeks Exemption Conduct R-ATP SIC Operations

For some time, Republic Airways has enjoyed a not so favorable opinion in the “Low Time” flying community due to reports of it allegedly engaging in second-in-command (SIC) operations on its single-pilot fleet, and those SIC’s later discovering that their ‘logged time’ is invalid and cannot be applied to flight experience for their Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) rating.

Well, those woes may soon come to an end if Republic Airways gets its way.

Mid-April 2022, Republic Airways’ COO, Mr. Paul Kinstedt petitioned the US Department of Transportation (DOT) seeking an exemption from 14 CFR 61.160(a) so that it can implement a Republic Restricted ATP program which they stated will align with Federal Aviation Regulations’  existing R-ATP requirements, through a rigorous curriculum akin to the native ‘military-pathway training’ that is addressed in the aforementioned regulation, but will instead cater to the civilian community with less than 750 flight hours, to engage in its Part 121 operations.

In the 50-page document provided to the DOT, Republic Airways outlined their training opportunities as supporting underserved communities, and that their R-ATP program has a “rigorous selection and admission process to ensure candidates are selected based on their aptitude as a pilot.”

They added that the structured training program consisted of supervised flights, periodic knowledge/skill assessments, and that failure to pass any ‘gate’ will result in the students’ ejection from the Republic R-ATP Program following which, they can continue training through the ‘standard’ pathway.

In the authors’ opinion, should Republic Airways receive approval, it [the program] could potentially offer relief to the pilot shortage by energizing the pipeline flow, and furthermore, encourage other carriers to follow suit. Since the knee-jerk reaction of 1500 flight hours or R-ATP at 750 hours following the Colgan crash of 2009, the steady flow of pilots became a trickle and, following COVID-19 furloughs and early retirement, the stark reality hit, and here we are. 

FMI: https://rjet.com