No airline requires an aviation degree.

He's 17. If he starts flying now, he'll have his private by this summer if he can go to the airport 2-3 times a week at a local flight school. This will also pay off big in another way: by the time summer looms, and the flight school is looking for some help at the desk, or cleaning planes, or fueling them (or all of the above) hopefully he's made a good impression and lands himself a job. Working at an FBO or flight school may get him a discount on time, and if it's like the flight schools I worked at, we looked after our own and didn't charge them dual. He'll have valuable industry experience, and an appreciation for it because he earned it largely on his own. While working/flying part time, do a 4 year degree at a local university, and spend the last couple years of college instructing. If all goes well he has enough time by the time he graduates to get to an airline or charter operation.

Be careful getting advice from retired or even veteran captains. They have very little concept of what things are like behind them.

 

You have no idea how true this is. I've seen it happen quite a few times. We buy up their equipment they leave behind and we try to help the stranded students finish their training but their money is usually long gone by then.

Any school that doesn't have a pay-as-you-go program is not to be trusted.