Envoy Air partners with flight school
Envoy Air is joining other airlines in the new trend of creating mentorship and hiring programs within the UND aviation program.
Envoy Air, which was previously called American Eagle Airlines up until April 15, has partnered with UND to offer select students mentors, training and even scholarships.
“This is an outstanding opportunity for our students to start their professional pilot career,” chair for the Department of Aviation Kent Lovelace said in a statement released by the university.
The partnership will allow selected students to be mentored by an Envoy Air pilot throughout school. After graduating, the student would work as a certified flight instructor while working toward the 1,000 hours of flight time required by the FAA. After completing the hours, the student would be guaranteed an interview with Envoy Air, and, if hired, the student would receive a $10,000 scholarship if they agreed to be a first officer for two years with the airline.
“Partnerships like this allow students to have more confidence with getting a job when graduating college,” commercial aviation major Katie Guillette said.
UND students must apply to be selected for the mentorship and hiring program. Students are chosen based on an application process that includes an interview by the airline.
This is something that is becoming more and more numerous,” assistant dean of Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, Ken Polovitz said. “The airlines are really looking for pilots right now. There is a pilot shortage, and it is going to get worse before it gets better.”
Polovitz said three things are currently happening in the airline industry. The airlines are growing, there are a lot of pilots retiring and there are less students going into aviation. Many regional airlines have been partnering with collegiate aviation programs to help recruit new pilots.
UND currently partners with Expressjet and Cape Air are connected with Jetblue. Polovitz estimated between 35 to 40 UND students are already a part of both of Expressjet and Cape Air’s mentorship programs. UND also is in the works to offer mentorship programs with Skywest, Verizon, Endeavor and Compass.
“Opportunities like this encourage students to reach out into the field and allows more industry contact for all students,” Guillette said.
Envoy Air, Inc. a regional airline based in Fort Worth, Texas, and is owned by American Airlines. Envoy Air serves the United States, Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean.
“Envoy is happy to partner with University of North Dakota on our pilot pipeline program,” said Recruitment Manager Richard King in a statement released by the university. “This program seeks to identify top aviators from the nations most well-respected aviation institutions. University of North Dakota is a leader in the aviation industry and produces outstanding professional aviators.”
Ashley Marquis is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected].