Republic Airways Inaugural Aviation Career Summit Aims To Inspire the Next Generation of Pilots

Aviation is a lucrative industry that can take people to new heights, literally but also financially. Pilots, air traffic controllers, aircraft mechanics and a variety of other careers exist in this field. Unfortunately, the path to a career in aviation is often not a straightforward one, especially for marginalized groups. Women and people of color make up only 14% of the aviation industry, according to Republic Airways.

Through its inaugural Aviation Career Summit, this company is aiming to change this trend. This three-day conference will provide a platform for people who are serious about a career in aviation to network, learn from mentors and discover their next steps.

“I want companies to see how to intentionally bring people into the aviation space who probably never had access or information,” Robert Lowe, Vice President for People and Culture at Republic Airways, said. “I want the students to come to the career summit to see what they can be and where they can go.”

Republic Airways’ Aviation Career Summit takes place October 21-23 in Indianapolis, Indiana, with free admission. The event spans the weekend with a career fair, panel sessions and a keynote speech from Barrington Irving, the first African American airline pilot to fly around the world by himself.

“If you hear his story, it is phenomenal,” Yiesha Beamon, Diversity Equity Inclusion Program Manager for Republic Airways, said. “He was the youngest pilot to travel the world solo in a plane he built. For our kids here in Indiana to hear about his amazing story is priceless.”

The team behind the summit has made a concerted effort to bring awareness to this industry. Republic Airways is bringing 1,500 middle and high school students from the inner city and all over Indiana to the summit. Lowe and the team have organized the attendance of several Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with aviation programs at the summit with the goal of recruiting students. The younger a person gets into the field, the more money they can make, Lowe explained. These high-earning careers in aviation are possibly strong enough to break generational poverty.

“A new first officer coming out to be a pilot will probably start between $70,000 and $90,000 at 23,” Lowe said. “By age 26 or 27, they are a captain and well into $120,000 or $130,000 with significant sign-up bonuses.”

The summit is a step toward creating a better and more inclusive future for the aviation industry. Currently, the U.S. is dealing with a pilot shortage. Many of the delayed and canceled flights this year stem from the pilot shortage. The pandemic slowed down pilot training and hiring, which led to many companies being short-staffed. The industry has a deficit of 8,000 pilots, which equates to 11% of the workforce, according to a report by CNBC.

“We have to find a way to create more applicants so that we can fill those seats,” Lowe said. “What we haven’t done is tapped into markets or applicant pools that historically had been backed out of the conversation.”

The aviation industry has historically lacked diversity. Lowe shared that within the last 25 years, more people of color have entered this career field. However, most of the industry is made up of white men, from the owners of airline companies to the folks who hold aviation positions.

Lowe and his team believe that more pilots of color would translate to more consumers of color. Minority travelers are a good portion of the travel economy with Black leisure travelers spending about $109 billion on trips in 2019, according to travel marketing company MMGY.

“The more Black people get in the industry, the more Black consumers come to the industry,” Lowe said. “Most people who work for airlines get to fly for free. Imagine when you fly for free, your spouse, parents, and children fly for free. Now those stories that are urban legends become real because you’re telling other people about the places you’ve been.”

Republic Airways aims to curate a diverse new generation of aviators by using this summit to provide attendees actionable steps and information to inform their choices going forward.

“Having an event like this is the start of creating pathways and pipelines into our industry,” Beamon said. “We are planting the seeds in good ground, and we pray that after the event, the seeds flourish.”

This story was created by Detour, a journalism brand focused on the best stories in Black travel, in partnership with McClatchy's The Charlotte Observer and Miami Herald. Detour's approach to travel and storytelling seeks to tell previously under-reported or ignored narratives by shifting away from the customary routes framed in Eurocentrism. The detour team is made up of an A-list of award-winning journalists, writers, historians, photographers, illustrators and filmmakers.

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