Spirit Airlines Forges New Agreement With CAE To Grow Its Pool Of Pilots

Spirit Airlines and CAE have brokered a new partnership to expand the airline’s pilot pipeline. 

The Spirit Wings Pilot Pathway, located at CAE’s flight academy in Phoenix, Arizona, is designed to fast-track graduates to becoming pilots at Spirit. 

Candidates can apply for the program after they successfully complete training at the academy and achieve 500 hours of total flight time. 

If applicants are successful in Spirit’s interview process, they will receive a conditional offer of employment and an Electronic Flight Bag from the airline. They will also be mentored as they work toward completing the minimum hours required for an ATP (Air Transport Pilot) certificate.

In August 2022, Spirit CEO Ted Christie said pilot turnover was still elevated from 2019 levels, and to better adapt to higher attrition, the company has nearly doubled the throughput of its pilot schoolhouse since late 2021. He said the airline is mostly “on target to hit what we need to from a staffing perspective.”

Spirit said it plans to accept 24 new aircraft in 2022 for a total fleet of 197 aircraft. Its planned delivery stream for 2023 is 33 new aircraft. The company has reasoned that its growth provides First Officers with opportunities to quickly upgrade to Captain. 

The airline’s shareholders recently voted in favor of its merger agreement with JetBlue. Although the deal is expected to garner a high level of scrutiny from the U.S. government, Spirit has said it expects to receive all required regulatory approvals and close the merger transaction “no later than the first half of 2024.”