Industry Insider

Finding your first professional flying job in today's market can be challenging. While many new commercial pilots become flight instructors, SkyLens offers another excellent way to build experience. SkyLens is an aerial imaging company that operates Cessna 172s, Cessna 182s, and Piper Aztecs on aerial photography missions throughout the United States. Pilots gain valuable cross-country, weather, and single-pilot operational experience while flying in a wide variety of environ

Southwest has announced that its application window will reopen on April 9. While this has caused some confusion, given that the application was open just last month and many candidates still report their applications as in process, it likely reflects a strategy to maintain a continuous inflow of applicants. This approach allows Southwest to build a large candidate pool while remaining highly selective in issuing CJOs.

Earlier this year, approximately 8–9 out of the 11–12 daily candidates were receiving conditional job offers (CJOs). Over the past month, that number of CJOs has decreased to roughly 5–6 candidates per day. This shift is likely due to changing hiring needs and a greater emphasis on selectivity. As a result, Frontier has recently become more selective in issuing CJOs compared to what we are currently seeing at United and Delta.

It appears that Frontier Airlines will not be holding new hire classes this summer. While it is not uncommon for airlines to slow hiring and training during peak operational months, the return of aircraft to lessors suggests there may be additional factors influencing this decision. That said, Frontier continues to conduct interviews, and with a steady flow of pilots departing for the legacy carriers, we expect hiring demand to remain strong. Over the past year, we have maint