Two aviation innovators are joining forces to tackle one of the most challenging issues in the airline industry today – that is, moving aspiring commercial pilots safely and more quickly through the hiring and training pipeline and into active service at commercial airlines reeling from pilot shortages.
Current Aviation, Inc. of Dallas-Fort Worth and the Training Division of AIRO Group Holdings, Inc. (AIRO) of Albuquerque are partnering to leverage the full-spectrum commercial pilot training approach of AIRO into Current’s curriculum. AIRO will provide flight training on multi-engine aircraft, geared specifically for those interested in commercial, rather than recreational, aviation.
Current Aviation will use its network and technology to help overcome a major hurdle for aspiring pilots and the airlines that want to hire them -- that is, building the 1,500 hours of flight time required after classroom training to obtain a commercial aircraft certification. Students at traditional flight schools often build those hours on their own time and at their own expense, adding years to the certification process.
Current will help place students with pilot opportunities in commercial settings, to build hours as charter pilots or in smaller aircraft (i.e., aircraft carrying fewer than 10 passengers), where flight hour requirements are significantly lower, and pilots can gain their experience more quickly.
Bob Perrin, AIRO’s chief business officer and head of AIRO’s training division and Current Aviation CEO, Brad Beakley agree, the AIRO/Current Aviation approach will reduce the time to full certification from years to months, through this concentrated effort of on-site training and commercial piloting opportunities.
“The implications of this approach for long-term stable pilot employment and the commercial aviation industry are significant,” said Beakley. “Partnering with AIRO helps us leverage decades of commercial flight training experience and a proven flight training curriculum purpose-built for careers in commercial aviation.”
The Current/AIRO partnership comes at a time when commercial carriers are scrambling to deal with pilot shortages that have upended schedules and inconvenienced consumers. Many major carriers, which lost thousands of pilots through early retirements and layoffs during the pandemic, are raiding the pilot ranks of their regional airline partners or starting their own flight schools to bring pilots into their own operations.
“Long-term, this partnership helps put qualified pilots into the pipeline more quickly – benefiting carriers and the communities they serve – and gives aspiring pilots an opportunity to choose a career in commercial aviation that fits their lifestyles, whether that be in regional or major airline flying,” Perrin said. “AIRO is proud to partner with Current Aviation, and to be a part of this unique solution in commercial aviation. The AIRO Holdings Group is committed to addressing key issues facing the Aerospace and Defense industry. Our team will be present at the Jaunt Air Mobility NBAA Booth 2400A.”
The impact has been especially burdensome on smaller carriers, many of whom have also cut schedules or ended operations as a result, with significant impacts on air service to smaller cities.
“This is no time for business-as-usual thinking,” Beakley said. “We are laying the groundwork for a more rational approach to flight training aimed specifically at the realities of today’s commercial airline industry realities and tomorrow’s opportunities.”
