An Evaluation of a Major Airline Flight Internship Program: Participant’s Perceptions of Curricular Preparation for, and Components of, the Internship

Abstract

This article presents the results of a follow-up survey administered to 110 former university interns who served a semester-long flight operations internship at United Airlines. The intent of the survey was to obtain the participant’s opinions concerning their academic preparation for the internship experience, as well as their overall assessment of the internship experience itself. Of the 78 respondents, 75.7% indicated that their university aviation curriculum had prepared them "very well†or “well†for the internship. Further, 80.7% of all respondents indicated that the semester-long internship had a “great impact†or “significant impact†in helping them achieve their career goals. Also, 96.2% of all respondents said that they would recommend a United Airlines internship to students seeking an aviation career.