Increasing numbers of women and minorities will be piloting the nation's commercial aircraft, thanks to a new agreement between Delta Air Lines and Western Michigan University announced Jan. 9 at the school's aviation campus. Their successful integration into the ranks of commercial pilots will help address an industry-wide lack of women and minority representation in the cockpit.
Minorities now account for just one percent of pilots and flight engineers.
Slightly more than five percent are women. This partnership reflects Delta's support, not only for that work, but also for the contributions our College of Aviation has made in developing ab initio pilot education. Traditionally, most commercial airline pilots received their training while completing military service. As the pool of military pilots shrinks, airlines are looking for innovative ways to bring highly-trained individuals into the commercial pilot ranks. WMU's ab initio curriculum is a European-style flight training regimen that takes students with no previous flight experience through a complete program and prepares them for employment as first officers at commercial airlines.