Status Report: An Airline-university Cooperative Pilot Career Program

Abstract

A descriptive study of the United Airlines--Southern Illinois University at Carbondale Cooperative Agreement in Aviation Flight and Aviation Management was accomplished in order to detail the selection, training, and hiring results of the agreement. This study showed that there have been over 100 SIUC student participates since 1987 in the short and long internships that were provided for in this agreement. The 93 short intemship participants had the following average inteming qualifications: 445 total flight hours, 30.0 multi-engine hours, and a 3.32 grade point average on a 4.0 scale. Furthermore, of the 93 short internships, 41 or 44.1 percent were selected to proceed on to a semester-long internship at various United Airlines Flight operation locations around the nation. Of those SIUC students successfully completing the internship, a total of 19 have been hired by United Airlines as Flight Officers since such hires began in 1989. Most of those hired are worl<ing as Boeing 727 Flight Engineers. Some have already upgraded to Boeing 737 First Officer positions. While the agreement is successful in many ways, the reasons for United not hiring successful long internships should be carefully studied in future research efforts. Also, the characteristics of a successful SIUC long internship (for example, of those hired by United) should be more completely identified by United at the time of employment.