Several passenger airlines have established pathways with flight schools to facilitate the recruitment of new pilots, but New York-based Atlas Air is one of the only known cargo airlines to work directly with a flight school on a dedicated pilot training academy.

Spartan Education Group, which provides government-approved training programs and career pathways for pilots and aviation technicians at a handful of U.S. campuses, announced Monday that it has opened the Atlas Cadet Academy at its West Chicago, Illinois, flight school. The initiative offers participants a defined avenue to potential first officer positions with Atlas Air, which also operates Boeing 767 and 777 widebody aircraft.

In addition to the normal curriculum covering essential aeronautical knowledge and preparation for FAA certification and rating exams, the academy will provide customized instruction and firsthand exposure to the airline’s culture. The idea is to facilitate integration of new employees and give Atlas Air better control of the labor pipeline. 

Unlike a typical flight school where graduates can eventually be recruited by any airline, the academy clears a lane for students to work at Atlas Air.

“We work very closely with Atlas to design a program that creates the skills and competencies that they’re looking for,” said Dan Bregman, Spartan Education Group’s vice president of strategy and development, in a phone interview. “If I’m a university or flight school and I’ve got 20 airlines all recruiting, it’s really tough for me to tailor my program for any one of those airlines, We are recruiting students from day one who are interested in flying for Atlas, which is different from a lot of other partnerships. We don’t want another airline poaching you. We want to keep you focused on this path that you’ve chosen.”

Enhanced training might include flying a 250-mile route with three stops to replicate what a short-haul cargo pilot might experience. 

The Atlas Cadet Academy initiated its first class in June with 13 new students and one certified flight instructor. It will continue to grow each month as more people meet the entry requirements, including an FAA-approved medical exam, and complete the Academy orientation, said Bregman.

Cadets can earn their FAA certifications and ratings (instrument, multiengine, etc.) as quickly as 13 months flying small, single-turboprop planes and then build toward the 1,500 hours necessary to earn an unrestricted Airline Transport Pilot certification by working as a certified flight instructor. (Those who obtain a business degree in aviation only require 1,200 hours of flying time.) After that, each flight instructor will continue training with a minimum of 250 hours in more advanced aircraft—Cessna Caravan, Beechcraft 1900, Saab 340B, and Aerostar turboprop aircraft—flying for unscheduled charter operators Castle Aviation and Planemasters, Bregman explained. Planemasters is co-located with Spartan’s College of Aeronautics and Technology at DuPage Airport (KDPA).

It may take four to five years for a high school graduate to achieve an unrestricted commercial pilot’s license because certification has a minimum age of 23. Spartan’s relationships with Castle Aviation and Planemasters allow fledgling pilots to earn money and build necessary hours until they’re eligible to join Atlas Air. 

The airline employs more than 2,900 pilots. International Aviation Professionals Local 2750, the Teamsters union that represents Atlas Air pilots, says 532 pilots resigned last year and 269 have left the company this year.

Tailored Approach

Bregman said Spartan plans to unveil a proprietary app in late September that will contain features such as supplementary Atlas Air training materials, interview tips and the ability to do virtual fireside chats with Atlas crew members and managers.

Atlas Air doesn’t cover students’ costs or pay Spartan for each graduate but has made an undisclosed investment in the program and provides resources, according to Bregman. Potential program benefits include visits from Atlas Air pilots to discuss professional development and company safety practices, touring Atlas’ flight operations center to see how an airline operates behind the scenes, experiencing a flight simulator, having lunch with executives, and attending training for flight attendants (Atlas operates some 747 passenger aircraft under charter contracts) to gain the cabin crew perspective.

Familiarizing students with the company early on demystifies the hiring process and makes the transition to a first officer much easier, he said.

Cadets can finance their training through a private loan program or get an associate flight degree from the College of DuPage, which provides access to federal financial aid and has a relationship with Spartan. 

Spartan a couple years ago changed its strategy to one that treats airlines, rather than the student, as the customer and the student as the product, said Bregman. The approach resembles the way community colleges work with a manufacturer or other company to develop students with specific skills that make them more attractive hires than someone with generic industry skills. The Atlas academy is similar to a recent program Spartan started with Allegiant Airlines. 

“It allows us to incorporate into the FAA-mandated training other kinds of experiences that we think make you a more competent pilot and enhance your skill set,” Bregman told FreightWaves. “We don’t want our students to be the deer in the headlights. We want them to walk into ground school at Atlas feeling full of confidence that they can do this.”

He made clear that Spartan doesn’t guarantee employment.

United Airlines in February 2022 opened a pilot academy at Phoenix-Goodyear Airport (KGYR) with the goal of training 5,000 pilots by 2030. It is the only flight academy operated by a major U.S. airline. Spartan College also provides an academy program for American Airlines that is less structured than the ones for Allegiant and Atlas Air.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on FreightWaves.

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The bill gives Boeing (NYSE: BA) a bridge, in case the express carriers need extra capacity, until it can develop a new freighter next decade. Multiple industry sources familiar with the process said FedEx (NYSE: FDX) and UPS (NYSE: UPS) joined Boeing in lobbying Congress for a reprieve from the January 1, 2028, production deadline. The legislation previously passed the Senate and will be sent to President Joe Biden to sign into law.

At face value, a split from international consensus would limit operation of freighters produced between 2028 and 2033 to the domestic U.S. market, but it’s possible some countries could permit access, according to experts. Freighters delivered before the end of 2027 aren’t covered by the enhanced carbon emission rules and won’t face any restrictions. 

Under International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) agreements, commercial aircraft manufacturers effectively can’t sell aircraft that don’t meet the 2028 carbon emissions standards. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency adopted the fuel efficiency standard in 2021 with the FAA following suit in February.

Even if post-2027 freighters end up being limited to domestic flying, it makes sense for FedEx and UPS to buy them, said Tom Crabtree, a Seattle-based industry consultant and former Boeing market analyst, in an email exchange with FreightWaves.

“The 767-300 production and converted freighter provides the lowest trip costs of any widebody freighter in production today while simultaneously allowing service to smaller markets where 50 metric tons of payload, or more, simply isn’t needed,” Crabtree said. “They also have sufficient range to serve international markets to/from Europe and/or northern South America from the U.S.”

Boeing stopped making the 767 as a passenger jet many years ago. It also supplies a tanker variant for militaries. FedEx and UPS are the only customers for the 767-300 freighter. Traditional cargo airlines opt for used 767s that have been converted to a cargo configuration because they don’t have the consistent, daily volumes of integrated express carriers and can’t afford more expensive new models.

UPS was the launch customer for the Boeing 767 freighter in 1995. The parcel logistics giant has 88 B767-300s in its fleet, including 10 converted freighters, and 19 additional factory aircraft on order from Boeing. 

“We expect to receive all outstanding orders before that time,” said UPS spokeswoman Michelle Polk.

FedEx has 137 B767s flying in its network, with 15 more deliveries scheduled through mid-2026, according to the company’s latest statistics.

Aviation publication The Air Current was first to unearth the 767 freighter waiver, tucked away on page 1,038 of the FAA bill. The language doesn’t mention the 767 by name, but the maximum takeoff weight of 180,000 kilograms to 240,000 kilograms squarely fits the 767.

Boeing officials have increasingly signaled that they plan to develop a freighter version of the 787 Dreamliner as a replacement for the 767F, but the first delivery is expected to take at least eight to 10 years.

“The 767F continues to be the most environmentally sound mid-size freighter available. We are working with our customers and are in communication with regulators regarding the requirements for this market segment,” Boeing said in a statement before the vote. “As we look ahead to future medium-widebody freighter options, the 787 is a natural place for us to look. We continue to evaluate our options in this space and are listening to our customers. Any future decisions regarding whether to launch a new program, will be largely driven by customer needs and market demand.”

Without the exemption, FedEx and UPS could be limited to Airbus A330 converted cargo jets, a model neither currently operates, if they need more medium-widebody aircraft in four or five years. The feedstock for 767 conversions is drying up because passenger airlines like Delta and United are holding on to aircraft longer than anticipated in response to supply chain, manufacturing and engine-related problems that have delayed delivery of replacement aircraft. The airlines probably won’t be ready to let go of the 767s until “they are well beyond the age of conversion or have too many flight cycles and flight hours accumulated on them to make it worth a while to convert it,” said Crabtree.

The new law will enable Boeing to compete with Israel Aircraft Industries, which installs 767 conversion kits, and an Airbus subsidiary that rebuilds A330s into freighters, and give it time to bring a 787 freighter to market, said the former chief editor of the biennial Boeing World Air Cargo Forecast. And A330 conversion providers would be able to demand higher pricing without that competition.

“Express firms like the certainty of production freighters even though they are more expensive than conversions of the same airplane models,” he said. That certainty takes the form of more consistent delivery schedules and meeting of specifications.

FedEx and UPS put pressure on Congress to keep the 767 option open and keep the playing field level until Boeing brings out the 787 freighter, the sources said.

Many have interpreted the carve-out to the international fuel efficiency standards to mean that noncompliant aircraft will be prohibited from flying outside the United States. But there is no universal enforcement mechanism. ICAO’s carbon emission standard will be implemented by individual countries as new domestic regulations updating their system for certifying aircraft types. Production will essentially be banned starting in 2028 because noncompliant models will not be certified for sale by civil aviation authorities in their area of jurisdiction.

Countries that ban the sale of noncompliant models are likely to ban aircraft with an exemption from entering their airspace on the basis of having an unfair advantage.

But an aviation industry source, who didn’t want to be identified because of the political sensitivity of the topic, said FedEx and UPS access to airspace in foreign countries would depend on what individual governments are willing to accept. Smaller countries that typically follow FAA and European Union regulations rather than certify aircraft themselves might have fewer qualms with allowing exempted 767s to operate.

Boeing also continues to deliver 777 cargo jets to FedEx and other airlines around the world. The FAA reauthorization doesn’t provide a waiver for the 777, probably because it is a transcontinental aircraft that wouldn’t make economic sense to operate only in the domestic market.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on FreightWaves.

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As it turns out, however, black swans actually exist, which gives the symbol new meaning: the pursuit of feats that are rare but not impossible.

That’s exactly the mindset of brothers Konstantin and Svilen Rangelov, the co-founders of Bulgaria-based drone cargo airline Dronamics. Last week, the firm completed the successful first flight of its flagship Black Swan aircraft near Bulgaria’s Balchik Airport (LBWB), flown remotely by two commercial airline pilots.

Now, the bearded brothers, who vowed to stop shaving until Black Swan’s first flight, have finally shed the biggest concerns they had about their technology—and their beards.

“Since the day we first imagined what the Black Swan aircraft could look like, we’ve worked towards this flight,” said Konstantin Rangelov, Dronamics CTO. “Today we’ve made history and are proud to have demonstrated the validity of our drone technology.”

The flight, spanning 16 miles and lasting a little more than 10 minutes, won’t be enough to enable a full launch for Dronamics, which is targeting commercial flights in Europe later this year. But with the firm moving steadily through European Union certification of Black Swan, the test served as a partial validation of its technology, which could swing the pendulum in its favor.

“It’s taken an enormous amount of hard work, belief, and drive to prove that what we envisioned works,” said Svilen Rangelov, the firm’s CEO. “We can now focus on the next step, the rollout of our commercial operations, and we couldn’t be more excited.”

While existing cargo airlines regularly carry several tons of payload, that’s not what Dronamics is about. Nor is it attempting to enter the crowded last-mile delivery space, which has been the focus for most drone startups. Rather, Black Swan is designed to stand in for delivery vans.

The aircraft’s maximum payload of 770 pounds places it in line with middle-mile ground transportation. And with a range of more than 1,500 miles, it’ll be able to cover the distance between Chicago and Los Angeles or any two points in mainland Europe. The drone also has a capacity of 125 cubic feet, similar to that of a minivan.

With Black Swan, Dronamics is promising to halve overall costs, reduce delivery times by up to 80 percent, and remove up to 60 percent of emissions compared to other modes of transport, including air freight. Flying within the firm’s network of Droneports, it will initially complete time-sensitive deliveries in industries such as e-commerce, health care, perishables, engineering, and mining.

The company is able to bring down the cost of those trips in part by removing pilots from the aircraft, allowing it to offer deliveries for less than $2.50 per pound—up to 50 percent less than existing same-day air cargo services. However, Black Swan can be flown fully or semi-autonomously.

With last week’s maiden voyage in the books, Dronamics appears to be well positioned for its planned commercial launch later this year: At last year’s European Business Aviation Convention and Expo trade show in Switzerland, the firm announced it had received an EU light UAS operator certificate, the first for a drone cargo airline.

Awarded by Transport Malta Civil Aviation Directorate (TM – CAD), the license allows Dronamics to self-authorize flights across EU member states—including beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations, which are some of the most regulated in unmanned aviation. Malta is slated as the firm’s base for European operations and, along with Italy, the site of its first commercial flights.

Now, Dronamics is preparing to scale up Black Swan. When that time comes, the firm will leverage the mass production partnerships it signed last year with Cotesa Holdings in Europe and Quickstep in Australia, as well as the $40 million it raised in pre-Series A funding this past February. Laying the groundwork for a potential Series A round later this year, the raise included participation by investors and venture capital funds from 12 countries.

The company also has a few more partnerships with an eye toward the future. Its agreements with Zero Petroleum and Cranfield Aerospace will support fossil-free alternatives to power Black Swan’s engine, which does not rely on electric or hybrid-electric power like the aircraft of rivals Elroy Air, Drone Delivery Canada, or Destinus.

And through its participation in the Care & Equity – Healthcare Logistics UAS Scotland (CAELUS) program, a consortium led by AGS Airports to develop the U.K.’s first nationwide medical drone distribution network, Dronamics will complete more Black Swan flight trials by 2024. Eventually, CAELUS hopes to enable deliveries of blood, organs, essential medicines, and more, which could make it a valuable partner moving forward.

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