Delta State strikes agreement with Pinnacle Airlines

CLEVELAND — Commercial aviation graduates of Delta State University now have the opportunity to be employed as pilots at Pinnacle Airlines Corporation airline subsidiaries without the traditional recruiting and interview process.

The Professional Pilot Direct Hire Program agreement was formed between Delta State and Pinnacle this past summer. Pinnacle believes the quality of students who successfully complete Delta State’s aviation program meet or exceed all of their standards used to measure pilot qualifications and professionalism and has thus made this opportunity possible.

Aviation graduates who meet criteria specified by Pinnacle will be immediately placed on a list of approved new-hire pilot candidates. Individuals on that list will be placed in the next available new-hire pilot class for Pinnacle Airlines Inc., Mesaba Airlines or Colgan Air. If no new-hire classes are scheduled at the time an individual becomes qualified they will remain on the approved for-hire list and will be assigned a class when it becomes available.

“The direct-hire program is an invaluable connection for our students, from flight instruction to the right seat of a regional carrier,” said Commercial Aviation Department chair Dr. Julie Speakes.