Canada & USA – Canadian airline Air Transat is accepting candidates for its Ascension Academy, an ab-initio cadet pilot program developed with CAE for applicants with little or no previous flying experience.

Air Transat operates two Ascension Academy intakes each year, with cohorts beginning in March and September. The program lasts approximately 18 months, with most training conducted at CAE Phoenix Aviation Academy at Falcon Field Airport in Mesa, Arizona.
The program is designed for candidates with little or no flying experience and is open across professional and educational backgrounds. Air Transat states that applicants may use the pathway for an initial aviation career or as a career change into professional flying.
The selection and employment pathway includes:
- Initial application screening.
- Candidate assessment and interviews.
- A conditional letter of employment issued before training begins to successful applicants.
- Ab-initio training at CAE Phoenix Aviation Academy.
- Subsequent airline qualification training before entering Air Transat operations.
Entry requirements include:
- Minimum age of 18 at the start of training.
- Completion of a high school diploma.
- English proficiency equivalent to ICAO Level 4.
- Submission of a passport copy with the application.
- Submission of the candidate's most recent academic transcript when studies were completed within the previous five years.
CAE provides the core flight-training phase from its Phoenix Aviation Academy at Falcon Field Airport. CAE's published fleet listing for the location comprises:
- 48 Piper Archer TX aircraft.
- 8 Piper Seminole aircraft.
- 7 Cirrus SR20 aircraft.
- 2 Cessna Citation CJ1 aircraft.
- 2 Diamond DA20 aircraft.
- Simulator equipment including three Piper Archer and two Piper Seminole devices, alongside Cirrus SR20, CJ1 and crosswind training devices.
After successfully completing the academy training and the applicable type rating, cadets are intended to enter Air Transat as seconds-in-command. Air Transat states that the training pathway prepares graduates to operate aircraft within its Airbus fleet.
Air Transat's current Ascension Academy recruitment listing is structured as a candidate pool rather than recruitment for a single intake, supporting the program's recurring March and September cohort model.
AFM previously reported that Air Transat and CAE launched Ascension Academy in September 2023 as a dedicated cadet pilot pipeline, initially targeting training commencement in February 2024 and providing selected candidates with conditional employment for second-in-command positions.

About Air Transat
Air Transat is a Montreal-based Canadian airline and a business unit of Transat A.T. Inc., operating an Airbus fleet on domestic, transborder and international services. Transat's latest published fleet disclosure projects a summer 2026 fleet of 41 aircraft comprising 15 Airbus A330s, 19 A321LRs and seven A321ceos. Ascension Academy was established with CAE in 2023 as Air Transat's dedicated ab-initio pathway for candidates with limited or no previous pilot training, linking initial flight training with conditional airline employment.

Source: Air Transat

Canadian Airline Cadet Program Offers 18-Month Pathway from Limited Experience to Flight Deck

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