Helping Aviation Careers Take off
by Charley Steed
Two and a half years into the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on the aviation industry has been felt far and wide.
Hundreds of pilots, air traffic controllers, mechanics and more were without work as countless planes were grounded but then, this past year the proverbial pendulum swung the other way. Flights were once again being grounded, but this time due to a labor shortage that was already putting airlines on the defensive.
Heading into the pandemic, the Federal Aviation Administration reported a 30 percent decrease in pilots since the 1990s.
This is precisely why, in 2019, Southwest Airlines and Jet Linx Aviation asked UNO’s nationally ranked Aviation Institute, one the nation’s top-ranked programs, to be one of just four universities in their new Destination 225º partnership.
“Destination 225° and this exciting partnership offers a unique opportunity for our students,” according to Scott Tarry, associate dean for the College of Public Affairs and Community Service. “Maverick aviators accepted into Destination 225° will be on course to work with the nation’s premier aviation companies as they train to become professional pilots and begin the pursuit of a career in aviation.”
Earlier this year, nine Aviation students who are part of the Destination 225° program traveled to Dallas to take part in leadership training where they got the chance to meet with pilot mentors and Southwest executives as well as engage with state-of-the-art flight simulators and training tools.
This kind of hands-on experience not only provided unique opportunities to UNO students but also puts them in high demand once they graduate.
“By the time we reached July of this year we were already blowing past the previous record number of pilots being hired, which was set in 2021,” explains Becky Lutte, associate professor of aviation (right). “Forecasts show that retirements combined with overall industry growth means more than 760,000 new pilots worldwide will be needed in the next 20 years.”
One of those pilots is Lutte’s son, Scott, who came to Omaha and UNO after growing up in Texas – recently joining the Maverick alumni network after earning his degree in August 2021.
Coming from a long line of pilots – many of whom were also Mavericks – dating all the way back to his grandfather on his mother’s side and great grandfather on his father’s side, he says UNO has a special place in his heart not only because of the family connection, but because what that connection says about UNO’s track record in cultivating pilots.
“The really cool thing about UNO is they have a lot of different pipelines that are exclusive to UNO and that’s been a big selling point for the students I know,” Scott says. “Also, for me and I’m sure a lot of other students, is getting that college experience as well as the flight training.”
“The support of the university has been really strong, and that’s important,” Becky Lutte says. “UNO is a university that gets us as aviators and that can sometimes be hard to find at other universities.”
And while pilots like Scott, who grew up in the industry, are natural fits to fill the pilot shortage, it is also an opportunity for those who traditionally haven’t been well represented in aviation: women and racially and ethnically diverse people. In fact, Becky Lutte is one of the few women who make up only 8% of the total number of pilots.
It is a glass ceiling that students like Gwendoline Dunlop, who is president of UNO’s Women in Aviation chapter, are excited to see shatter in the coming years.
“Lack of representation is a strong invisible barrier. We don’t get a lot of opportunities to see other women in aviation in our area, and it can feel isolating,” Dunlop says. “I often feel like I’m somehow representing all women when I am the only one in the class.”
Lutte, whose research looks at aviation policy as well as the recruitment of underrepresented groups to the industry, says airline companies no longer have the luxury to do things the same way. Big changes, like flexible scheduling and more family-friendly policies, are needed to attract a diverse pool of potential employees.
“They are going to need to tap into a large community and that is going to include women and underrepresented groups. UNO and Omaha are uniquely positioned to meet the moment because we do have strong faculty who are also diverse. With these assets, and the way our program is designed, our students, the future pilots the industry is needing right now, will be taking to the skies that much sooner.”