PFT(Pay For Training) was a hot topic back I started my flight training. Never made sense to me.

No, extra no praise is due. There is no shortage of applicants these days. The main idea behind this initiative is the second sentence in the quote in the first post of this thread. That's not a veiled bigoted suggestion by me. Its their words.

What are you talking about??

Airlines "growing their own" is not a new concept. Its an attempt to generate positive PR.

We visited the Lufthansa training facility in Phoenix in 2011 or 2012 as part of Continental Megadoo. Most of us had a chance to try their simulators....and crashed. Lufthansa believed in "growing their own" as opposed to hiring people with prior military or civilian experience. Young people with often zero flying experience enrolled, and paid tuition, and on graduation had a career path open to them as a LH aviator. It was kind of fun seeing those little Cessnas with LH livery.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f0808eb364.jpg

No wonder you crashed. That's not a Cessna..... :-)

OK,OK. Smarty pants.....what is it? And I would have crashed it, anyway. And I'm also not very good at LH basketball.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b0640ceeca.jpg

Somehow I knew the answer was going to be “good weather”.

Beech F33 Bonanza. Don’t think Cessna made any low wing single engine aircraft.

So, I know we are getting way off topic, but... Can I as a tourist visit this place? And, do they just have 3-4 spare LH 747s or 737s in Phoenix for the cadets to try out? You know to kick the tires and take it for a spin? 😁

yes I almost signed up but wanted to wait awhile until I saved up a little more from my job at the time, then when I was ready, Colgan happened and the FAA changed the rules.

Of course it is not a “new” concept (what is, these days?) but it’s the first time in this era that a US carrier has actually invested in ab initio, among other things, flight training. More common has been investment in the proximate stage of the pipeline, regional carriers. United does that too, but it also is investing at the earliest stage. That’s not as common.

As for the PR, what’s wrong with it? Part of the goal is to generate visibility to attract quality candidates, too.

Your comment re: bigotry was strange, to me.

the entry level people dont make top dollar? shocking!

Many non-US airlines have training academies in the US. In addition to the weather, as others have said, a FAA certificate is generally highly regarded worldwide. There are JAL, EVA, Air China, etc. academies in California.

To be fair, many of the people entering Skywest already typically have the equivalent of something like 5 years of experience and a 4-year degree, so it's not like someone fresh out of college in another industry. It's not super compelling when a First Officer domiciled at SFO could make more with minimum wage + tips waiting tables. Airlines are screaming "pilot shortage" left and right, but the truth is that there are plenty of both current and potential pilots to fill the ranks (like myself) who would consider it if life wouldn't be miserable for the first few years.

Plus cheap fuel in the U.S. compared to Europe.