ATP celebrates 40 years
Says hiring need remains strong for career pilots
ATP Flight School celebrated a milestone in October: 40 years of training pilots for a career in aviation. “Forty-thousand individual pilots have come through ATP,” said Michael Arnold, ATP Flight School vice president of marketing. “That could be the individual ATP certification programs when ATP first started in the 1980s and ’90s. That also includes our CTP [certification training program] operations out in Dallas."
Despite some industry headwinds—including new airliner deliveries lagging behind schedule—long-term professional pilot hiring demand looks promising, bolstered by significant airline pilot retirements, ATP says.
“So, there’s no secret, we’re facing a couple of industry hurdles right now,” said Ashley Pillon, ATP Flight School director of airline and corporate partnerships. “The airlines are having issues with their aircraft production and they’re taking the steps as best they can to mitigate the impact on their operations. I think the good news is the travel demand is there. The hiring need is there. As soon as we get those deliveries, these airlines are going to be in the position to need to play catch-up.”
Pillon said mandatory pilot retirements will be staggered over the next eight years. “American has the peak in mandatory retirement first, then United, then Delta, and then early 2030 for Southwest. We’re still going to have the need to hire. We’re still seeing that there’s going to be this tremendous number of retirements coming, which is beneficial for anyone who’s looking to make a career change and embark on this journey.”
With 800 to 1,000 daily training flights, ATP is likely the largest operator of GA piston aircraft in the world. “Fifty-thousand flight hours per month and doing it as safely as we can, considering what it is we’re doing: working with relatively low-time pilots and working in the training environment,” said Arnold. “When you look at our safety management system, and different policies and procedures and flows that we put in place—and new technologies to be able to accomplish what we do safely—we really do try to mimic the airlines more than just training our pilots.” ATP’s fleet of training aircraft continues to grow; 135 new Cessna Skyhawk aircraft are on order, with deliveries scheduled through 2026.
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