Delta Pilot Career Path Program
 

Delta is launching the Delta Propel Pilot Career Path Program to identify, select and develop the next generation of pilots. This industry leading program complements the traditional, existing paths to becoming a Delta pilot and has three main areas of focus — college, company and community. This three-pronged approach will help Delta support future aviators as well as current Delta employees who have a passion for aviation and strong interest in becoming a Delta pilot.

Pilot in cockpit"Delta conducted several years of research to create a pilot outreach and pathway program that will inspire and attract the next generations of high-quality talent," said Steve Dickson, Senior Vice President – Flight Operations. "As a global industry leader, we are taking a holistic approach to expanding the opportunities available to aspiring pilots. We listened to feedback from students, parents, faculty, administrators and Delta employees to help overcome barriers for potential pilot candidates such as career path uncertainty and the Certificated Flight Instructor shortage. We then rolled up our sleeves and developed the Propel program that will provide a defined, accelerated career path for these future aviators."

During the next decade, Delta expects to hire more than 8,000 pilots to staff the thousands of daily flights it operates around the world as other pilots approach mandatory retirement age. The Propel program will supplement the airline's current recruiting structure, which includes recruiting and hiring pilots currently flying in the airline, military and corporate sectors.

Regardless of the path, any pilot participating in the program will meet all of the qualification requirements and testing aspects of Delta's current pilot hiring model, which will be metered over the course of their development.

In addition to the financial options currently available to students at flight training providers and our collegiate partners, Delta is exploring whether other potential financing opportunities might be available for employees and students.

The program builds on Delta's long-standing investments in the future of aviation professionals and the communities it serves worldwide.



College Path

Delta is initially partnering with eight universities with accredited aviation programs to interview collegiate aviation students. Successful candidates will be provided a Qualified Job Offer (QJO), detailing a defined path and an accelerated timeline to become a Delta pilot. The airline plans to add additional university partners in the future.

Students with a QJO will receive an advanced engagement opportunity that will immerse them in the Delta culture on and off campus including a Delta pilot as a mentor for the duration of their training and career.

Initial partner universities include:

Auburn University
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Daytona Beach
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Prescott
Middle Georgia State University
Middle Tennessee State University
Minnesota State University, Mankato
University of North Dakota
Western Michigan University
The Propel program is the first in the U.S. to offer students their choice of three unique career routes and an accelerated timeline to progress to Delta, in 42 months or less, after:

Flying for one of the Delta Connection Carriers
A job-share flying for Delta Private Jets and instructing for one of Delta's partner collegiate aviation institutions, or
Flying military aircraft for the Air National Guard or Reserves.
The Collegiate Pilot Career Path will begin accepting applications August 2018.


Company Path

The internal career path is a highly selective program to provide current Delta employees a career transition opportunity and the support to pursue a pilot career. This program will allow Delta to continue to invest in its people, tapping into their passion for aviation and the strength of the Delta culture.

A limited number of candidates will be chosen each year and will be provided with a Qualified Job Offer (QJO) detailing a defined path and timeline to become a Delta pilot. The QJO will include a path and timeline back to Delta as a new hire pilot, an advanced engagement commitment, including mentoring from an active Delta pilot, and a Leave of Absence program.

Selected employees participating in the Propel Company Pilot Career Path will:

Earn their remaining certificates and ratings at one of the nation's leading flight training providers, including:
ATP Flight School
FlightSafety Academy
Build their time as a Certificated Flight Instructor at the program they trained at
Work for a Delta Connection carrier for 42 months or less before returning to Delta as a new hire pilot
At a minimum, interested employees must be in good standing with three years (36 total months) of active employment with Delta. They must also have a Private Pilot certificate with a current biennial flight review and a minimum of 100 hours of fixed wing total time. Full requirement details are available here.

Pilots in airportThe program will interview and select up to 15 employees for the initial launch, with plans to expand enrollment numbers in subsequent years. While successful employees will be able to maintain their date of hire for pass travel benefits and vacation accrual, their seniority within the pilot seniority list will begin on their new hire class date when they return to Delta.

Employees who may be overqualified for the program will also be eligible to apply for a Delta Propel Leave of Absence that will allow them to build their flight experience in order to earn an opportunity to apply and interview as an "off the street candidate" in Delta's Pilot Selection process.

The Company Pilot Career Path will begin accepting applications August 2018. ​


Community Outreach

Delta is leveraging current relationships with aviation organizations and establishing new ones to identify and support aspiring pilots, including engagement with kindergarten through high school students. Key partnerships include Aviation Career Enrichment, Civil Air Patrol, Conyers Middle School – Center for Technology and Engineering, National Gay Pilots Association, National Flight Academy, the National Intercollegiate Flying Association, Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, West Michigan Aviation Academy and Women in Aviation International.

Delta pilots will continue to teach students about aviation and familiarize them with pilot career opportunities through the Propel Community Outreach. Scholarships, consistent engagement and a robust mentoring program will help the airline enhance the diversity of the candidate pool and support a more inclusive selection process.

As part of its annual giving, Delta is committed to invest one percent of its net income into the communities where employees live, work and serve. The airline's giving is guided by its key pillars of education, global health and wellness, and supporting armed service members and veterans. In 2017, the airline invested more than $45 million into worldwide communities.

Additional information about the program and the airline's partner universities can be found on propel.delta.com.

Only one of those schools has a good football program. Seems like an easy choice.

The tier 1 candidates already move to mainline after less than 24 months, why would they commit to 42 months, when the hiring boom is just getting started?

Less than two years to Delta from college? Where’s the data to support that claim?

42 months or less.

So lets say 300 of them decide to come to Endeavor, at 42 months or less, and no captain commitment, we lose 300 FO's. :confused:

What are you talking about? This is for people right out of college with a CFI only, or employees with a PPL...i wouldn’t call that tier 1 and this is probably the fastest way for them. Would be interesting to see though how long the advanced program is for people with an ATP already.

As long as the program is active DCI will have a revolving door for FOs until all the current employees are gone through other means.

The sole purpose of this program is to staff the regionals IMO..Why would any Delta pilot volunteer as a mentor in order to keep DCI around?

another effort to just kick the can down the road! When are the legacies going to just realize the truth and just get rid of all the regionals and make everything MAINLINE! fuel prices will go up again, pilot shortage at regionals are here and will only get worse. Time to stop putting band-aids on the wounds and get rid of the regionals and bring 100% IN HOUSE!

For those us us with Kids who aspire to follow in our footsteps, this is a fantastic opportunity. The company can choose to hire whomever and however they want. So, I for one am glad my incoming College Freshman Aviation Major will have this opportunity. I just hope they add his university to the program within the next two years so he can apply.

We have over a thousand pilots here waiting for the DGI, a lot of them are children of current Delta pilots. These propel pilots just got slotted in ahead of a lot of them.



There is no way we can afford to lose hundreds of FO's all at once, along with over 150 DGI pilots/year.

They have not been slotted ahead of anyone. Those current pilots you speak of have a 4+ year advantage to get hired on with Delta before these students hit the streets.

Also, keep in mind these students will have a 4-6 year probation essentially. There’s nothing that will obligate Delta to take the student to mainline. Conversely, there’s nothing that requires the student to come to Delta. Either party can go their separate ways at any time.

The DGI has a two year captain requirement, and it is metered, so yes, they are ahead of them. You have to get 1000 hours SIC before you are allowed to even upgrade to start the DGI clock. Whereas in the PRopel program, 1000 hrs gets you to mainline.

^^^^THIS^^^^

“Ahead of them” implies these students are already on the Delta seniority list. Again, how many (through the DGI) will be at Delta within the 4 years before even one of these students get through? A lot more than you think. So many things in this industry will change in that time anyway.

A current new hire at Endeavor might be waiting up to 10 years for the DGI, since there is an upgrade requirement. Most of the Captains here have already been rejected in the SSP, and are stuck.



If you do the Delta interview, you should go straight to Delta IMHO. Creating a system where new hires are ahead of DGI pilots that haven't yet interviewed, is a mistake.

I wonder how much this will cost them per pilot?

All this appears to be is panic mode money throwing money at Big Ed x 2.

100-200K for the degree that used to cost under 30K not that long ago, and another 100-150K+ for ratings that not that long ago cost 20-30K. Paid into a third party system that has shown what it does to prices when more money is thrown at it by interests that never look behind the curtain.

Soon it will be way over a quarter million to produce a new hire regional FO, and no one asked how TF we got to that point, when not that long ago we had more than enough GA and training infrastructure to produce the same number of pilots at a small fraction of the cost.

But when you're busy lighting billions on fire looking through a drinking straw at next quarter's results then who cares because as Seinfeld says, "that's tomorrow guy's problem".

I hate to rain on the parade but I've had concerns recommending the career to my kids mainly because technology is moving so fast I'm not sure how long aircraft will have 2 or more pilots. Anyone else have these concerns or am I out to lunch?

It's not a lack of interest in aviation, it's a freaking economic one. The lack of scholarship or grants etc. has put this career nearly out of reach. When it costs nearly the same to go through medical school or Vet school as it does to be a pilot...i.e. $235k+ and then you get paid a whole $40k, best case scenario vs what a Doc makes after their school... well, there you go.

I've been sounding the alarm on the University debt scam for years, the GDP hit when the bubble finally bursts will certainly be classified as a depression.

Sad thing is that no one even questions it. Not parents, not corporations effected by it, and certainly not the legislature. We just keep throwing more scam money at it like 529's and grants etc which makes it worse and insures its inevitable collapse will be even more painful. The whole thing exists as a romantic concept outside of reality.

Not to worry—. Once Bernie is elected it will all be free!! :D

I didn’t see anywhere in the announcement that Delta will be paying anyone’s tuition.

No, you’re not out to lunch. This is a great job, but if you’re in your 20s today, I can’t really see this as a viable career past your 40s. This shortage of pilots will only serve as the impetus behind the acceleration of automation that will reduce the number of required crew members. I don’t think it’s as close as some think, but it’s coming.

Why do you think this will cost Delta more money? They are providing the opportunity, and not paying for it. Unless I missed something..A student today has the same opportunities to get to Delta. Go to college, build flight time and apply at Delta. The new program gives a path and a timeline that they must commit to at DCI. No guarantees.. This program seems more geared toward staffing the regionals during the upcoming pilot shortage. Plus with no guarantees of being hired, this program could backfire on candidates if DCI is very short on pilots and Delta cannot bring them to mainline. Am i misreading the memo?

No, they weren’t slotted ahead of anyone

Delta Pilot Career Path Program
 

Delta doesn’t pay for anything other than the on-campus events and off-campus social events and administrative costs. Very minimal investment to get our culture into these schools and promote the brand.

FlyMaryJane is right. This strategy made sense when I first heard it before our '01 strike, and still makes sense today. The term: Whip-saw still fits...

If this were completely true, there would only be one path to Delta and it would be through DCI. As it is, there are 3 paths. Take a look at all parts of the program.

I know a number of pilots building time out of their local airports and getting hired at an AA wholly-owned within weeks of getting 1500 hours, and they will flow to AA eventually. There’s no need to go through complicated and drawn out programs.

BTW, there’s already an industry of quality pilots trying to to the big three and don’t get a call because of HR metrics.

They will eventually figure out the scholarship angle and its attendent tax implications.

DCI would be the shortest path to the required hours. However, I agree, this program will create massive staffing problems at DCI. We can't afford to hire pilots who won't upgrade. A couple hundred of those pilots here, and this place will implode. We have a sever captain shortage as is, a lot of regional are now forcing upgrades.

I completely agree. First we'll see single pilot ops at the cargo carriers. Once that's perfected, then it'll be at the pax carriers. Next will be pilotless operations with cargo. There will be firestorm lobbying efforts in congress. It won't matter; foreign airlines (Asia, ME3,etc) will have no heartburn whatsoever eliminating pilots from the cockpit as technological advancements continue to accelerate. The cry from US domestic airlines will be "Hey, we can't compete against uneven regulations!" And then poof, pilots will join the ranks of the elevator operators from the past.

This might be the first step towards ab-initio programs like the Asian carriers. Career training contracts and Delta could control a potential pilot's entire training process. Maybe it's too expensive at this point.

Has there ever been any talk of a tuition reimbursement program through the legacies? I seem to remember FedEx having something like that for ground employees.

Maybe Delta could loan its future pilots the tuition, and they pay it back at 14% interest over the course of their career.

Citation needed. Last I heard upgrades are pretty well at getting the minimum total time there.

I'm sure there will be more to this program going forward to clean it up.

I'm not aware of any regionals paying even $40k first year anymore.

There are almost 2,000 pilots currently at Endeavor and Delta will only hire at maximum 180 per year the rest will likely sit in a queue like the SSP candidates.

I made 60k first year with the old payrates and the bonus at Endeavor.

It was poor wording, I mean the pay is better than $40k