ATP vs. AA Cadet Academy
 

Hello, I'm curious to know what some of you may think of the pros of ATP over the AA Cadet Academy that was recently announced and vice versa. What are some advantages that AA Cadet Academy has over ATP? Frankly, I am slightly leaning towards ATP because I wouldn't be locked into AA at the end of training (and once the minimums have been met) and that would give me more options.

I am considering the "zero to hero" route that either program offers as it would give me the ability to hunker down in the studying as well as focus on the training. And having looked at both and weighed some options, I am aware of the debt that both would carry due to cost. And because i'm sure it will be mentioned, no the military is not an option for me.

Thanks for the advice.

I would find out if with the AA Academy you still get the new hire bonus. I don’t know the answer to this, but if you don’t then that is not very good so long as regionals continue to offer them. If it gets to the point where most of them do away with them and simply restructure their hourly compensation then I wouldn’t worry about that so much.

It seems to me that the AA Academy just like the JetBlue one, drags on for a while. They stick you to their timeline and charge a ton of money for it. I also don’t think that they are highly selective, giving them no prestige. If you qualify for the loan you pretty much get in, and once you’re in if you can’t hack it they throw you out but this goes for anything in aviation. If you can’t hack the material or the actual flying you simply don’t move on to the next step, same as in any mom and pop flight school.

ATP does offer speed plus with them you are able to get that new hire bonus. Which with some regionals can be up to 20k towards paying off that big loan. Like I said, I’m not sure that AA offers this. When I skimmed their website I didn’t see any of that. Perhaps they do offer it.

You should look online at some of the reviews of ATP, it’s also not very hard to do the math and figure out the true cost per flight hour.

The thing that is also very dumb about ATP is that they are against you holding a job while in training. This is 9 months without even a little part time job which if you haven’t saved money to survive that time period, it only adds to your debt. They also say that this is because it’s a very involved program which it is but the real reason is that your schedule must be completely open so that they can fit you in according to theirs. Which is fine, but again, for 90k it’s not that fine. They also encourage that before starting you study ahead and take almost all your written exams. Which any responsible student would of course do, but again, with a great portion of the ground stuff out of the way why can’t we hold a little part time job? Oh, that’s right. It’s that ATP schedule.

Lastly, I’m of the belief that given the proper information, people can do anything they want with their money. There is really nothing wrong with entering a program like ATP or one of the newer academies. I’ve made plenty of decisions in my life where I know it’s not the best economical decision, but I’m able to point at a sum and say I’m over paying here but that fine since it’s something that I need now or it’s my best option at the moment. The key is having the information to make an informed decision.

For example, it’s difficult to get a loan. If ATP offers you one, great. AA Academy advertises to be even more loan friendly to young people. That’s great as well. When you look at a long term pilot career. Perhaps attaining more debt early on is offset by better seniority and money later in life.

I can go on and on. There is really no right and wrong answer.

As for myself, my plan is to find a school which allows me to get my ratings in a timely manner for a price range around 45k. I’ve been studying as much as I can, all while managing to put away around 15k for training. That leaves a loan of about 30k. A regional bonus should technically cover at least half of that. Regardless, 30k is a smaller loan. When you triple that, due to interest alone you end up that much deeper in the hole. Anyways, I feel like writing a book here. Haha... best of luck mate!

I applied to the AA cadet academy and did the entire process. It was highly selective, but a good barometer to see company culture. You're interviewing them, as much as they interview you. Out of 2500 applicants, I was in the first group of 9 candidates. I have several questions on how they are going to compensate you, if i'm eligible for that $20K bonus like cadets, etc. We will see how it shakes out over the next few weeks, as they make their decision on me and the others. They were up front, and said that it is very fluid, and they're working out the kinks as well.

I strongly suspect that in the next few years they'll be offering scholarships to Flight Academies. Or some kind of deal where each year you fly for XYZ airline a certain amount of your debt is forgiven. The current cost of getting all your ratings is just too high of an entry barrier for many prospective pilots.

Hahaha. This is a no brainer. If you go the ATP you will save about 15-20 grand.

I just finished the ATP program myself. Took me about 7 months. I stood ahead of schedule with my instructor. (The 9 months is just their syllabus and is a general rule). These other school would be way more expensive and take longer. Plus, their aircraft will not be as new as ATP’s. Every archer I flew was a 2015 or newer with glass panel.

Since ATP Instructor pay is crap, I just left to instruct at a better flight school once I graduated. Then, signed up for Envoy’s cadet program. (Choose a different regional if you want. I just liked their domiciles the best)

Kinda agree with this. I'm still contemplating ATP, once I'm done with my private. It's way cheaper and one stop shopping there is the allure for me.

Hey any updates on your progress for the cadet academy

Current AA CADET
 

I was accepted into the AA Cadet Academy, there are only 24 students so far that have started the training (July 31st was the first class). I start November 6th, 2018. After you include all of the check ride fees from ATP they are very similar in price. I have been told instructor pay will be much more than ATPs. If you have any questions for me I would be happy to answer on this forum or i will also post answers and updates on how the training is going on my instagram page [MENTION=83979]pilotlindsay[/MENTION]y

Hey pilotlindsay! I just applied for the aa cadet academy, I'm 33 with already around 30 hours flewn on a Cessna and I'm a flight attendant for aa, do I have any chance? I would be interested in attending their school in Pompeo beach I see they have classes at american flyers

Hi
 

Hi,
Can you share your email address so that I can ask you a little more about AA cadet program:)

Thanks!

follow up
 

Hey there! Curious if you found out about any tuition reimbursement/signing bonuses through completion of the AA cadet academy. I’m currently debating between that and atp as well.

Hey Nemack, I’m also a flight attendant looking into the cadet academy or atp. Wondering how your application went. And if they offer tuition reimbursement or signing bonuses when ready for the regionals.

Cost
 

The "cost" associated with the AA program isn't any different than the costs of pursuing on your own, other than there is a loan involved. The difference between doing on your own, or going with Jet Blue, is that AA provides the loan to cover your expenses which is then deferred while you pursue your flight hours AND until you get a job. That's what makes that program unique. If you can afford the training and the time to get your hours without a loan, that's great, but the cost of entry to becoming a pilot is expensive and prohibitive to many and the aim of the program is to help overcome that knowing that there is a pending shortage of pilots.

where do you teach? I heard the ATP was just rushing through, with 80K in loan

You're counting on a regional bonus to pay off debt - better verify how the bonus #'s are arrived at, and how any cash portion of it is paid (up front, after 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, etc.)

Also IMO, ATP is pretty pricey.

What companies does AA cadet program use for their flight training? Is ATP one of them ?

CAE (Phoenix) and Coast Flight (San Diego, Dallas, Austin?)

i know this was posted a while ago but did they look at highschool grades?