Washington, D.C., USA – The Regional Airline Association (RAA) has formally urged the U.S. Department of Education to classify accredited flight training programs as professional degrees. This designation would significantly expand financial aid eligibility for aspiring pilots and help address a deepening workforce crisis in regional aviation.

• RAA President and CEO Faye Malarkey Black testified at a Department of Education public hearing, advocating for access to graduate-level financial aid for students enrolled in accredited Part 141 university flight training programs.

• The proposed reclassification would align flight training with other professional degree programs (e.g., medicine, law, pharmacy), making substantial student financing options available for costly FAA-required flight hours and certifications.

• According to Black, the current cost burden—an additional $90,000 on top of a four-year degree—is the “highest barrier to entry” in pilot careers, particularly impacting working-class families.

• With nearly 50% of the current pilot workforce approaching mandatory retirement and wages having increased, demand for pilots remains high. Yet persistent training affordability issues continue to constrain talent pipelines, especially in smaller communities.

• Black emphasized that pilot jobs drive local economies through discretionary income and spending, creating a wider economic ripple effect.

Read the full statement below:

“Good Morning. I’m Faye Malarkey Black, CEO of the Regional Airline Association. I represent fifteen U.S. regional airlines employing more than 71,000 Americans. Our members flew 121 million passengers last year.

Regional airlines partner with major airlines to bring air service to every corner of the country. Most airports do not have enough passengers to fill large mainline aircraft, so two-thirds of our nation relies on regional airlines and smaller aircraft for flights.

Unfortunately, a growing pilot shortage has forced regional airlines to park aircraft and cut these flights – a crisis for smaller communities. Hundreds of airports lost air service and some went dark permanently. Half of today’s airports have far less service than they had a decade ago.

Worse, within fifteen years, half of our workforce will reach their federally mandated retirement age. Wages have climbed and career interest is high, but barriers to entry are higher. The highest of all is the cost of flight training – and the inability to finance it. These barriers put pilot careers squarely out of reach for working families.

Accredited, Part 141 flight training programs—often embedded within university programs— add around $90,000 in additional costs to a four-year degree. These are not optional extras; they are federally required flight hours, certifications, licenses, and safety benchmarks.

Yet, students in these programs are limited to standard undergraduate federal loan caps. They cannot access the higher loan limits available to graduate professional students—even though pilot training meets every test of a professional degree. These students earn a professional license, complete skill-intensive training beyond a bachelor’s degree, and enter a high-wage field where starting salaries are six figures, senior pilots make more than 500,000 dollars per year, and career earnings can reach ten million dollars. Airline pilots have this high disposable income on day one, with ample discretionary income after loan repayment. Pilots not only connect smaller communities, their high wage jobs drive a ripple effect for economic growth.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act positions the Department to act. The law defines “professional students” by referencing 34 CFR §668.2, defining a professional degree as requiring advanced skill and professional licensure. Flight training already meets this standard. These students need the same access to the same financial tools their peers in law, medicine, and pharmacy already have.

To remedy this discrepancy and help resolve the pilot shortage, we urge the Department to issue clear guidance recognizing accredited undergraduate Part 141 flight training programs as professional degree programs. This small but powerful change would unlock federal resources for students, advance aviation workforce growth, and support the economic health of smaller communities and our nation overall.

Thank you.”

About Regional Airline Association (RAA)
The Regional Airline Association (RAA) provides a unified voice of advocacy for North American regional airlines aimed at promoting a safe, reliable, and strong regional airline industry. RAA serves as an important support network connecting regional airlines and industry business partners. Regional airlines operate 35% of U.S. scheduled passenger flights and provide the only source of scheduled air service to 64% of the nation’s airports. Regional airlines provide more than 70% of the air service in Alabama (72%), Alaska (88%), Arkansas (75%), Maine (72%), North Dakota (87%), South Dakota (75%), Vermont (77%), West Virginia (92%) and Wyoming (73%). Regional airlines provide more than half of the air service in Idaho (70%), Indiana (56%), Iowa (63%), Kansas (69%), Kentucky (58%), Mississippi (68%), Montana (65%), Nebraska (53%), New Hampshire (58%), and Rhode Island (58%). 

Source: Regional Airline Association