Alaska Air Signs Agreement with UMES to Help Aspiring Pilots
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Alaska Airlines and its regional carrier Horizon Air have entered into an agreement with University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) for True North, an initiative offering financial aid to students who aspire to be pilots.
Alaska Air Group will sponsor two upperclassmen’s advanced flight training as they work toward graduating. Upon graduation, True North beneficiaries will work as flight instructors at the university. When graduates have achieved 1,000 hours of flying and meet the requirements for an Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL), they will work for Horizon Air for five years.
Capt. Ron Limes, an Alaska Airlines pilot since 1999, headed the initiative to make UMES a partner institution.
“When I became a pilot, I realized how few pilots looked like me,” Limes said to UMES. “I am excited by this program because it will remove so many barriers — whether that be financial or otherwise — for Black, Indigenous and people of color pilots to have full and rewarding careers in aviation.”
The agreement will continue for qualifying students in subsequent years after the initial recipients graduate.
“Often the barrier to students entering this in-demand, well-paying career is the expense of the flight training,” stated UMES President Heidi M. Anderson in the university’s news. “This partnership will ensure any student who comes to UMES and wants to be a pilot, will be able to pursue their course regardless of their financial situation.
