Frontier Pilots Wanted, No Experience Necessary

No, you won’t actually be handed the keys to a jet and told, “Best of luck.” The new F9 Pilot Cadet Program outlines a thorough and detailed training regimen at any of more than seventy accredited flight schools across the country that will last 24 months for most candidates, and those who don’t reach acceptable levels of competence will be bid adieu. But the following list of Frontier requirements doesn’t include flying experience of any kind, or even a college diploma:

• First Class Medical — for more information, click here
• Vision corrected to 20/20
• Valid passport, without restriction, to travel in and out of the U.S.
• Valid driver’s license
• Able to pass standardized pilot aptitude testing
• Ability to pass rigorous pilot training and evaluation program
• Ability and willingness to work a variety of schedules including nights, weekends and holidays
• Ability and desire to maintain a well-groomed and professional appearance
• Ability to communicate in English
• Ability to pass pre-employment drug testing and background checks
• High school diploma or equivalent; BS degree preferred
• Minimum age of 19 at program start
• Authorization to work in the U.S. without sponsorship
• Able to obtain ATP financing and tuition
• Ability to relocate domestically, potentially internationally, for flight experience during the training program

According to Brad Lambert, vice president of flight operations for Frontier, the eleventh largest airline in the U.S., the carrier created the program because of a challenge common across many industries in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic: the increasing difficulty of filling open positions. “In a world of uncertain pilot supply, Frontier wants to ensure we have enough pilots by creating our own supply and stimulating the marketplace for pilot creation,” he notes.

Lambert describes the program’s goal as providing “as many pilots as needed to ensure Frontier has enough pilots to fly our schedule given our aggressive aircraft order.”

The airline has contracted for 226 Airbus planes, whose delivery is expected to triple the size of Frontier’s fleet by the decade’s end. While Lambert contends that Frontier has “not been challenged staffing our new-hire pilot classes,” he says he foresees “a time when we won’t have enough. So we are taking proactive steps to assure our supply.”

Although the idea of recruiting people with no prior flying experience could potentially unnerve passengers, the Frontier concept isn’t unique. United and Delta have similar programs, and Lambert stresses that “pilots will come to us with 1,500 hours of flight experience, an Airline Transport Pilot License, and a command qualification in the A320” — the model of the Airbuses Frontier has ordered — “along with dozens of full-flight simulator hours and training.”

Just as important to Lambert is Frontier’s ability to monitor recruits from the jump. “We believe our ability to assess, stay close during training, mentor while building flight time, and custom-tailor training right before transitioning to Frontier all enhance the safety level of hiring these pilots over those ‘off the street,'” he says. “Many airlines have successfully placed lower-time pilots at regional airlines in the past and have achieved the level of safety they required. In fact, almost all foreign carriers put first officers into Airbus aircraft with closer to 250 flight hours, with the required margins of safety achieved.”

He adds that “this model has been used successfully in other parts of the world for many years with success, and we look forward to advancing this model in the U.S. as we face this unprecedented shortage.”

Click to learn more about the F9 Pilot Cadet Program.