Press Release

Issued by ARGUS International.

August 1, 2019

ARGUS International, Inc. is proud to announce its role in a new partnership that will take a more transparent approach in the way pilots grow and develop. CAE has announced a targeted partnership with Southwest Airlines, XOJet, JetLinx and ARGUS to help develop an alternative aviation career path for pilots.

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 programme will take a more competency-based approach to training versus a traditional compliance-based approach. The programme 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 programme'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 programme is led by enhanced training, safety and operational reporting measures endorsed by Southwest Airlines, XOJet, JetLinx and ARGUS. The cadets selected for the programme 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.

The 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.

“This will provide a lot of promising talent with a great opportunity and pathway to a quality commercial aviation career,” said vice president of business aviation Ed Wandall. “We are confident that this large-scale data set will show the programme's effectiveness and change the industry's approach to evaluating a pilot's aptitude.”

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