United Aviate Academy Opens Applications for Summer 2026 Class

Arizona, USA – United Aviate Academy, a wholly-owned flight training subsidiary of United Airlines and a core component of United's Aviate pilot pathway program, has opened applications for its Summer 2026 class at its Phoenix, Arizona training facility.

• United Aviate Academy forms part of United Airlines' Aviate program — the airline's structured cadet-to-captain pathway, designed to provide students with a direct route from ab initio training to a United Airlines first officer position upon meeting all qualifications and airline requirements.
• United Airlines acquired the academy in 2020 through the purchase of Westwind School of Aeronautics in Phoenix, with the academy central to United's stated objective of training over 10,000 pilots over a decade to address the airline's long-term pilot demand.
• Since opening at the end of 2021, United Aviate Academy students have cumulatively accrued over 100,000 flight hours, achieved more than 2,000 aviation certificates, and completed over 200,000 takeoffs and landings. More than 30 graduates are already employed at United Express carriers.

About United Aviate Academy
United Aviate Academy is the wholly-owned ab initio flight school of United Airlines, operating from a 340,000 square-foot facility at Phoenix Goodyear Airport, Arizona, with a fleet of Cirrus SR20, Diamond DA42 and Piper Seminole training aircraft.

Source: United Aviate Academy