The Aviate messaging seems more of a broad public message that all are welcome to come visit the cockpit and consider our profession. If it gets highly qualified individuals interested from non-traditional aviation backgrounds into the program at the ground level then we’re casting a bigger net and getting potential great pilots. That’s not a bad thing.

This profession is less accessible than many for so many reasons and has historically been passed down father to son pretty often. I sometimes feel like the odd man out not having a father who was in the industry. That’s sort of telling.

Aviate’s diversity aim is a fraction of a fraction of our future hiring, literally. It’s one source and anyone in that pipeline has to meet the same high standards we all meet once they (eventually, having met all requirements) set foot in a cockpit on the line for UAL.