Delta Helps Dolphins Soar
In 2019 , U . S . airlines carried 925.5 million passengers - a new record . In 2020 , that all changed with the pandemic . What remains steady , however , is the growing number of pilots headed for retirement , and in turn , the need for new pilots to replace them . A 2020 industry outlook report by CAE , a leading aviation training company , projects a short-term demand for 27,000 new civilian pilots starting in late 2021 , with more than 260,000 pilots needed over the next decade . To meet the call , Jacksonville University graduate and Delta pilot Brent Knoblauch ' 09 pioneered the creation of the Delta Propel program to develop the next generation of pilots . Partnering with the best aviation schools in the country , Delta Propel fuels a growing global workforce of aviators . Many of those new pilots will train here . Delta will select Jacksonville University ’ s best aviation students and mentor them on an accelerated path to earn their Delta wings .
CLASSROOM TO COCKPIT IN 3.5 YEARS
1 OF 13 DELTA PROPEL UNIVERSITIES
260K PILOTS NEEDED BY 2029
" This pipeline allows college students to earn in three and a half years what I accomplished in twelve ."
Merrill Sutton , Delta Pilot and Liaison to Jacksonville University