Abstract
The United States (US) airline industry is struggling to find enough commercial pilots and to diversify a profession that has the reputation of historically being male and white. To attract a younger and more diverse generation of pilots who have been historically underrepresented, women and people of color, a major US airline announced a diversity plan in March 2021 to hire thousands of pilots, at least 50% of them women and people of color. In 2022, several other US airlines launched similar initiatives. The purpose of this study was to identify perceptions of collegiate flight students regarding the airline industry’s new training and hiring initiatives focused on this underrepresented population. There were 183 flight students from seven collegiate flight programs who participated in this study. The findings indicated (1) a small majority of the collegiate flight students (56%) agreed that women and people of color are underrepresented in the US airline pilot career field, (2) only 46% of students agreed US airlines should diversify their pilot ranks and create new opportunities for women and people of color, (3) only 27% agreed white pilots are perceived as a racial barrier and males are considered a gender barrier for potential pilot candidates, (4) 79% agreed passengers want airlines to hire pilots based upon aptitude and competency and not gender and ethnicity, and (5) 48% agreed the airline industry’s new diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives would negatively impact a collegiate flight student’s employment opportunity. The dissemination of findings will foster needed dialog among researchers, airline industry professionals, and collegiate flight programs regarding the diversification of the flight deck and the effects of these new training and hiring initiatives on the sociocultural dynamics within collegiate aviation programs.
Scholarly Commons Citation
Bliss, T. J.,
&
Miller, I. A.
(2026).
The Decision of US Airlines to Diversify the Flight Deck: Perceptions of Collegiate Flight Students.
International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace,
13(2).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.58940/2374-6793.2042
