United’s New Pilot School Readies Its First Class for a More Inclusive Cockpit
Photo Credit: Two students from the United Aviate Academy in discussion United Airlines / United Airlines
Skift Take
For the longest time, especially to minority communities, becoming a pilot has been been an out-of-reach career. Today, United's Aviate Academy is taking strides to change that, defining true accessibility for everyone and along the way addressing a pilot shortage holding all of aviation back.
When United Airlines announced the launch of its own aviation academy last year, the very first flight school to be initiated by a major U.S. airline, there was also a promise of opening new pathways, particularly for underrepresented groups of aspiring pilots.
Thirty-eight-year-old Ricki Foster is one of the few who made history as a member of the first class of the United Aviate Academy. Foster was born in Jamaica but was living with her family in Atlanta, Georgia, when she first entered the world of aviation as a flight attendant.
After a decade in that job, Foster rediscovered her passion as a pilot when a pilot co-worker suggested she consider the role and took her on a discovery flight. She was training at a local school in Georgia soon after when she heard about United’s Aviate — more importantly, its initiative to diversify the flight deck. When she did a bit of her own research, she was blown away.
“You mean, there’s an actual
