Republic Airways Petitions FAA to Lower Pilot Minimums For Company's First Officers

If successful, the airline would be allowed to hire pilots with just 750 hours, half of the current requirement.

Michael Wildes

Tuesday, May 10, 2022 at 05:04 PM ET

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Republic Airlines argues that its proposal would make pilot careers more accessible. [Courtesy: Republic Airlines]

Key Takeaways:

Republic Airways has petitioned the FAA to lower the pilot minimums for its Restricted Airline Transport Pilot (R-ATP) program from 1,500 to 750 flight hours.
The airline proposes a new, closed-loop R-ATP training program through its LIFT Academy, designed to be safer and more rigorous than current military pathways.
This initiative aims to significantly reduce pilot training costs (from $200,000 to $75,000), increasing accessibility for underrepresented groups and addressing the ongoing pilot shortage.
Pilots in the program would be full-time Republic employees, undergo selective aptitude testing, and initially only be able to use their R-ATP privileges with Republic.

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Regional carrier Republic Airways has petitioned the FAA to lower the required pilot minimums for its R-ATP program from 1,500 hours to 750.

Republic is headquartered in Indianapolis and flies on behalf of Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL), and United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL). The company applied on April 15 to the Department of Transportation (DOT) to lobby for its version of the restricted ATP.