Shortages have crippled the travel industry this year, from raw materials all the way to personnel, but few factors have affected tourism as much as the pilot shortage.
Airlines have been scrambling to solve the issues posed by the lack of pilots, from raising the retirement age to lobbying for a change in the training system. But Frontier has developed its own method – hiring untrained pilots.
The $8 million program is being built to cope with future shortages as the airline expands its fleet to almost triple the current size. Each month, 35 new trainees will be brought on-board and sent through a two-year process to gain the necessary qualifications to then become a commerical pilot.
It’s an unorthodox way of combatting the problem, and applicants will have to foot the $90 thousand fee themselves, but they’ve also been told the average starting salary breaks the $100 thousand mark. Not too shabby.
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