An email to program participants last week highlighted some changes to the Propel Pilot Career Path Program by Delta, making it more focused on a limited number of partners and pilots who are closest to meeting ATP minimums.

The program notes in its requirements listed on the website that it is open to applicants who come from AABI accredited collegiate programs and a few select other partner schools. On their website for the Propel Program, Delta notes that:

“Delta is offering a pilot career path for college students at all U.S.-based universities with flight education programs accredited by the Aviation Accreditation Board International (AABI).”

Not all collegiate aviation programs are AABI accredited. Delta offers a list of affiliated collegiate programs on its program page. 

While the program does have a few select other “Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) Career Path” schools from which they will accept Propel program applicants, these are limited, including only “Propel affiliate flight schools [that include] ATP, Academy of Aviation, Luke Weathers Flight Academy, and Superior Flight School.”

Another change highlighted in the updated program is the implementation of new eligibility criteria: an applicant must be “Actively flight instructing as a certified flight instructor and within 12 months of meeting R-ATP/ATP requirements.”

This represents a tightening of the recruitment pool for the Delta Propel program within its timeframe, from granting a candidate status in the program to when they would likely be hireable by a partner airline, and a refocusing of recruitment efforts away from specific training pathway programs. If you are a student or have sons or daughters who are targeting a future Delta Propel pathway in their career training path, you will need to focus your training path on a location that meets the program requirements. Training somewhere else, this program is unlikely to be available.

It also means that Delta is more likely to see its program participants actually end up entering the hiring pool at the partner airlines, Endeavor Air, and eventually flowing up to mainline Delta. Bringing candidates into a program like this when they are student pilots or in early training stages leads to more of them dropping out of the training pathway over time. By tightening the recruitment process for candidates who are already CFIs, the program ensures they have completed most of the training and are closer to entering service at an airline.

Watching pathway programs such as this and how they recruit is a critical factor for pilots in training who are seeking airline careers to monitor and adjust their training pathways to become high-quality candidates as they structure their training efforts.

You can learn more about the Delta Propel Pilot Career Path Program at: https://www.delta.com/us/en/careers/pilots/propel