Commercial airline pilot shortages are growing larger every month. However, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University- Prescott (ERAU) is making national and international headlines as a premier flight training program meeting industry needs.
The global pilot shortage, coupled with planned expansion at ERAU, has created what the Arizona Department of Transportation 2021 Aviation Economic Impact Study (AEIS) executive summary issued at the end of the year called “one of the largest aviation training programs in the country.”
ERAU president Barry Butler recently said, “Our ERAU program is a top place for the industry to go to recruit talent. We’re truly pleased the professional world recognizes Prescott as the go-to campus for the best professional pilot recruits in the country.”
ERAU Chancellor Anette Karlsson echoed Butler, saying, “Airlines are contacting our flight training program and its instructors routinely because once they get their training here, they are hired immediately by the major carriers in the country.”
Tim Holt, Dean-College of Aviation, said the university has set the “gold standard for excellence in pilot training.”
“American carriers are coming to ERAU for pilots because they know our students have some of the soundest, most professional training of any in the world.”
The university recently added 35 new planes to its training fleet and anticipates adding more, Holt said.
Prescott Mayor Phil Goode told the annual Prescott Chamber of Commerce meeting attendees that he viewed ERAU as a “critically strong factor in the community’s economy, especially because of its positive impact on the Prescott Regional Airport (PRC). PRC would not be what it is today — the state’s 3rd busiest — if it weren’t for ERAU.”
