My class in late June started with 25 on day 1, two of those were hired as sim instructors.

One was a non-US citizen and had a paperwork issue that could not be resolved within three days (apparently the limit for continuing class). He was pushed to the following class two-weeks later.

One was fired less than a week into class for some issue with his paperwork. The rumor was that he had previously been hired by PSA, quit during ground school to go to Avantair, then put down on his application that he had never worked for PSA.

One quit when hired by a B737 charter operator in Miami (Swift Air?). This guy had previous MD11 F/O time but had been out of flying for over a year.

One was fired about four weeks into ground school for his inability to keep up with the program. There is a mid-course stage check that involves setting up the cockpit and running the checklists and procedures through the after start checklist. Six days after the rest of the class completed this (very easy) stage check he was still unable to pass it and was fired. Rumor was that he was still struggling with copying down the ATIS, clearance, and finding communication frequencies on the Jepp chart. Nobody in the class was surprised when he was let go.

The class is currently in the sim. All have completed orals, a couple have completed checkrides, many are in the sim now, and the rest are starting sim within the next week, or so.

So 3 out of 25 have been lost in just over two months but only one of those was a training failure. I would be very surprised if we lost more than 1 or 2 more to training failure. I will not be surprised if everyone makes it through.

This is my seventh aircraft initial ranging from a 19-seat turboprop to a widebody jet. The PSA training program is more structured than most and the instructors have generally been good. The expectations are laid out for you and the resources you need are made available. Those who struggle are given extra time with the instructors and a reasonable amount of extra time. This has not been my most difficult initial nor has it been my easiest.

I do think there is some truth to the statement that they are hiring some who they know may struggle in order to fill classes. Overall, my class had a lot of experience. Four ex-Comair. One ex-GoJets. One ex-Republic. One ex-ABX. One ex-UAL (got out of aviation after furlough, I think, and didn't go back). One ex-Silver. Two ex-Air Force. Several long-time corporate. Only four or five "low-time" guys, one of whom is going for the R-ATP. Average age of the class was 41.

I've heard of a couple from previous and subsequent classes who quit because they found the program too difficult or stressful. Both were older guys who hadn't flown in a 121 environment before. The stress level is definitely highest in those without previous 121 time though the low-time "young pups" are doing very well.

It's difficult to tell much about the culture and attitudes while still in training but we've heard few negative comments from the employees who we have met. They all seem pretty happy here and our interactions with the company have been professional. Will have to see how well that holds up once we hit the line.