United Airline’s Aviate, launched in 2019, is announcing changes to the Aviate program all made possible through collaboration with Aviate-participating United Express (UAX) carriers, the United Flight Operations team, Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and Aviate partners. The changes are effective beginning March 01, 2023.

Summary of program changes:

• Simplified transition requirements. A single Pilot in Command (PIC) requirement replaces the 2,000 flight hours of total time (or 1,500 for those who upgraded to Captain) and two (2) year service time requirements. A bachelor’s degree is no longer required to transition to United.
• Aviate participants will be required to fly as a Captain at Aviate-participating UAX carriers or Part 135 operators to transition directly to United.
  • Training failures incurred during Captain upgrade training will not count toward a participant’s quantity of certified regulatory check ride failures.
• Current UAX Aviate participants remain eligible to transition under legacy program requirements, or under new program requirements, whichever is faster.
  • Select UAX pilots will be required to upgrade and fly 500 PIC hours to transition under the legacy program requirements.
• United start date commitment. Participants will be on property at United within four (4) months of meeting program requirements.
• Part 135 direct transition to United. Participants can now transition directly to United from any Aviate-participating Part 135 operator after serving as a Captain.

The Aviate program needs to evolve to reflect today’s hiring environment and better support participants in their journey. United Airline’s Aviate made these changes to improve:

• Transparency – By moving to a PIC requirement with a four-month transition commitment, Aviate program is able to remove flow rates so participants can better predict when they’ll start at United.
• First Officer hour availability – The Captain-to-First Officer imbalance facing several carriers means that many First Officers aren’t meeting Aviate transition requirements as quickly as they’d like. By requiring Aviate participants to serve as Captains, more hours will be available for First Officers to build experience.

Source: United Aviate Announcement
Photo Credit: United Aviate (shown as meta image)

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