AeroGuard Provides an Accelerated Direct Path to the Airlines

The career path that takes a “zero-time” student pilot to their dream job of flying for the airlines is more of a journey, one that can be made easily when each step is clearly defined. At AeroGuard Flight Training Center, a progressive curriculum has given over 7,000 students the opportunity to combine the aviation skills and knowledge needed to qualify for an airline position with additional training in professionalism and leadership that makes an AeroGuard graduate a more attractive candidate to commercial airlines.

When enrolled in AeroGuard’s Pilot Pathway Program, students will get an accelerated and seamless start on their airline-pilot career, giving them a direct path to AeroGuard’s partner, SkyWest Airlines. Designed in three cohesive phases, students first build skills, experience and confidence in AeroGuard’s fleet of 70-plus single-engine and multiengine aircraft based across five campuses in Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas. Graduates of this 10-month phase will receive training for seven FAA ratings and pilot certifications including private pilot, instrument rating, commercial single-engine, commercial multi-engine, certified flight instructor, CFI-I and multiengine instructor.

After completion of Phase One, students will have the opportunity to become a working CFI at AeroGuard in Phase Two, earning a salary, teaching others and building the experience and flight hours required to be eligible for a career at the airlines. As an AeroGuard CFI, instructors not only receive a steady flow of income, plus benefits, but they also continue to learn while building their flight time to ATP minimums. In a structured environment pilots learn what it means to be a professional pilot, enhance their skills by training others, and also benefit from additional classes in leadership training, interview preparation, and mentorship from SkyWest all positioning an AeroGuard graduate for long term career success.

As a strategic partner with SkyWest Airlines, the largest regional airline in the country, AeroGuard’s Pilot Pathway Program is aligned with SkyWest’s standards, procedures and expectations, as such, graduates from AeroGuard’s Pathway program are guaranteed a First Officer interview with SkyWest in Phase Three. During this phase they will complete their airline transport pilot training to begin a career as an airline pilot and also receive an industry leading $17,500 Tuition Reimbursement on completion of their Initial Operating Experience. AeroGuard graduates are of course free to work elsewhere, applying in a hiring market where they will stand out from the crowd given their skills and experience in a culture that puts quality and safety above all else.

The program at AeroGuard gives zero-time students the tools they need to succeed, in an open-door atmosphere where questions are encouraged, with plenty of support available on every level. Enrollment advisors walk new students through the process of getting started and can arrange financial aid from numerous reputable lenders as well as the Department of Veterans Affairs or their accredited university partnership.

From day one, an AeroGuard Pilot Pathway Program student will see their complete journey laid out before them, with each benchmark clearly identified. The success of the program is based on a structure similar to those found at the airlines, and each student knows what to expect and what is expected of them. A graduate of AeroGuard Flight Training Center emerges ready to continue down the path toward a long and gratifying career as a commercial-airline pilot.