Summary
- JetBlue is offering a program for military-trained helicopter pilots to grow to be industrial pilots and join the airline as a First Officer.
- The Gateway Rotor Transition Program provides customized training that features regulatory requirements, flight school, simulator training, and essential skills.
- JetBlue’s Gateway program goals to usher in more diverse candidates, including women and folks of color, and 10% of recent hire pilots are expected to return from the Gateway program this 12 months.
JetBlue is offering expert military veterans the possibility to affix the airline as a pilot through its Gateway Rotor Transition Program. The scheme provides US military-trained helicopter pilots the chance to place their existing expertise to make use of as a industrial pilot, and forms a part of the airline’s wider Gateway development program.
The low-cost carrier has partnered with SkyWarrior Flight Training LLC in Pensacola, FL, to supply the customized training package, which covers all regulatory FAA requirements, flight school, and ground school. The course also includes integrated full-motion simulator training, in addition to vital competencies corresponding to crew resource management and threat and error management.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Easy Flying
Once the pilot training is accomplished, candidates will join JetBlue as a brand new hire First Officer, where the abilities and experience of their 5,000 pilot colleagues will proceed to shape their learning. JetBlue’s Head of Safety, Security, Fleet Operations, Airports, and JetBlue University, Warren Christie, said,
“We’re incredibly proud to support our veterans, each customers, and crew members alike. With Gateway RTP, we are going to provide these achieved US military rotary wing aviators the extra skills and certifications crucial to bring their skilled experience and technical abilities to JetBlue.”
JetBlue’s Gateway development program
The Gateway Rotor Transition Program’s first cohort is as a result of begin training later this 12 months, and JetBlue hopes to scale up its transition program in the longer term. 2023 is the fifteenth 12 months of JetBlue’s Gateway program, which has brought lots of of expert pilots to the airline, breaking down barriers and opening the door to more candidates from underrepresented communities, including women and folks of color. This 12 months, 10% of recent hire pilots at JetBlue are expected to return from the Gateway program.
Photo: JetBlue
Nancy Hocking, the Director of JetBlue’s Gateway Programs, celebrated the scheme’s ongoing success, saying,
“We’re pleased with the incredible talent pipeline we’ve built with our Gateways. Not only does it provide a transparent path for future pilots and technicians, by making these careers more accessible to talented individuals who may not have considered them as an actual option, we’re opening opportunities to a much larger audience while maintaining the very best standards required of those critical roles.”
Combating pilot shortages
After pilot shortages caused severe worldwide disruption last summer, airlines have been ramping up their recruitment drives, and pondering outside the box with regards to attracting potential pilots to the occupation.
Several other carriers across the US have enhanced their pilot training schemes as a solution to combat the shortage. The primary cohort of trainees at United Airlines’ Aviate Academy, for instance, graduated earlier this 12 months.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Easy Flying
After the challenges of recent years, JetBlue appears to be going from strength to strength. The airline recently posted record revenue levels for Q2 2023. Nonetheless, it stays to be seen what impact the recent breakdown of the Northeast Alliance with American Airlines can have on future income.
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