Seattle, USA-based regional carrier Horizon Air has arranged a supply of ab initio trained pilots, flying in the face of the US tradition of paying more heed to the number of log-book hours than to the type of training.
Horizon has developed a "direct relationship" with the University of North Dakota's (UND) School of Aviation Sciences, to recruit graduates of its ab initio airline training course.
Horizon chief pilot LaMar Haugaard says that the carrier will continue with the procedure adopted when it selected UND graduates for its de Havilland Dash 8 fleet: "We interviewed 27 candidates, and put them through our entire screening process. Before our team left Grand Forks [UND], offers of employment were made to 13 of the pilots."
Source: Flight International
