ARGUS Partners With CAE and Southwest Airlines

CAE, Southwest Airlines, XOJet, JetLinx, and ARGUS have partnered to develop the Destination 225º Program, an alternative aviation career path for pilots. ARGUS International, Inc. is proud to announce its role in this partnership, which will take a more transparent approach in the way pilots grow and develop. 

The aviation industry is currently experiencing a deficit of qualified pilots for charter, regional, and major airline operations. This issue will continue as more pilots retire faster than new pilots reach regulatory experience requirements.

The Destination 225º Program will take a more competency-based approach to training versus a traditional compliance-based approach. The program will take a closer look at the value of each flight hour and have a more in-depth evaluation of pilot-based competency. Destination 225º will career track pilots going through training with viable job opportunities through the program’s partnerships. The industry historically has evaluated a pilot’s competency solely based on their total flight time. ARGUS will look more at what aircraft they received the hours in, missions flown, and details regarding training received. ARGUS will dive into the specifics of what the training incorporated and factor in elements that expand beyond minimum requirements.

This training program is led by enhanced training, safety and operational reporting measures endorsed by Southwest Airlines, XOJet, JetLinx, and ARGUS. The cadets selected for the program will be screened, assessed, and trained by CAE. Starting January 2020, selected cadets will begin the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Pilot licensing ground school followed by flight training at CAE.

Pilots can choose between two pathways to gain the FAA Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) requirements and join Southwest Airlines. Pilots can accumulate up to 500 hours as flight instructors, then fly with either XOJet or JetLinx for at least 1,000 hours or fly 1,500 hours as flight instructors at CAE Phoenix. They would also be compensated as a first officer with the opportunity to upgrade to captain. The experienced pilots can then apply to Southwest Airlines as a first officer candidate and if selected, will undergo Southwest’s rigorous new-hire pilot training at the airline’s state-of-the-art facility in Dallas.

ARGUS looks forward to being a part of this career pathway. The program will be announced during the 2019 Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP) Convention in Los Angeles.

For more information about ARGUS International and its team visit, http://argus.aero/.