Aviate Academy Class Begins at Phoenix Training Facility

United Airlines announced the start of operations for its subsidiary, United Aviate Academy as 30 students began class on December 6 at Arizona's Phoenix Goodyear Airport.

The class is 80% female or people of color, set to complete a rigorous year-long training program to set their careers on a course that will land them in a professional aviation position. According to United, more than "7,500 applications from aspiring pilots around the country in less than six months, with nearly 75% of those applicants being women or people of color." 

Once students complete their course, they will join the Aviate pilot ecosystem at partner universities, professional flight training companies, or United Express Carriers as they build the qualifications to become airline pilots for United Airlines proper.

After the initial class, the academy plans on accepting anywhere from 25 to 50 fresh students each month and expects to train at least 500 annually, "with a goal with a goal for at least half of those being women or people of color" in a plan echoing the company's greater hiring of at least 10,000 pilots by 2030.

Unable to fulfill their hiring goals with the meager proportions found in the American pilot base, United has brought that pilot creation in-house. 

The school joins the popular flight training area with its own 340,000 square-foot facility leased from the city of Phoenix, formerly used by Lufthansa Aviation Training.The academy will further sublease part of the facilities to the former tenant. Students will train in a fleet of leased SR-20 aircraft while they live in dormitory housing near campus. The academy will continue to accept applications year-round, with new classes frequently beginning. 

FMI: www.unitedaviate.com