United buys Arizona flight academy to feed pilot pipeline

United announced Wednesday an agreement to purchase a flight training academy in Phoenix in a move aimed at bolstering its pilot pipeline as the industry faces a global shortage. To address a tight US labour market created by years of slow pilot hiring, a wave of pending retirements and new rules that in 2013 increased the number of required training hours, US airlines have been taking steps to attract young aviators. United, which is looking to hire more than 10,000 pilots by 2029, will be the first major US carrier to run its own academy. “We think this program will alleviate any shortage we would have had and that’s its purpose,” said Curtis Brunjes, United’s MD of pilot strategy. The school, currently operating as Westwind School of Aeronautics, will be renamed United Aviate Academy in September. United expects approximately 300 graduates in 2021 and wants to expand capacity to accommodate 500 graduates per year, Brunjes said, noting that the academy is among the airline’s most aggressive steps on pilot hiring since the 1960s. One area of focus at the school will be training for loss of control incidents, a leading cause of plane disasters, that goes beyond the current US FAA. Some of the enrollees will come from Aviate, a recruitment program that United launched last year offering students and pilots from 15 schools and regional carriers a path to a job at the major. United is offering financing options for training and will also launch a scholarship program focused on women and minorities.<br/>