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CFI Student Pilots Sign-On with Mesa Airlines

Mesa Airlines Pilot Recruitment came to the CAU campus last week and presented our student CFI pilots Luis and Tanner with an incredible achievement! They both are now part of the Mesa CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) Cadet Program!

In partnership with Southern Airways Express, Mesa Airlines created the Cadet program to provide flight school graduates with a direct pathway to a career as a first officer. Qualified cadets receive $10,000 in incentive sign-on bonuses, and begin accruing seniority, vacation and travel benefits upon acceptance into the program.

California Aeronautical University has partnered with several regional airlines to create opportunities for their graduates upon completion of their professional pilot degree program, critical to the success of CAU graduates entering the field.

Along with acceptance into the Cadet Program, becoming a student CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) is an incredible accomplishment – especially since it can allow you to accumulate required flight hours before earning a bachelor’s degree. When you become a CFI some of the responsibilities can include, but are not limited to: providing flight, simulator, and ground instruction in accordance with FAA regulations, Airmen’s Information Manual, Airport Operations, and CAU policies, and procedures to students. This could include maintaining student records and ensuring course standards and training requirements are up to par for each student in each flight course. A CFI educates, motivates, mentors, and molds CAU students to become successful pilots and graduates.

To start your own pilot career with one of our airline partners consider the following:

  • Apply to an accredited flight program. CAU’s professional pilot program offers a B.S. in Aeronautic along with flight training. It is a comprehensive pilot degree program and though its FAA Part 141, offers many benefits to include a structured educational format with key benchmarks for both students and instructors.
  • Secondly, complete your flight training! Our conditions make it possible for our students to fly 4-7 days a week, students in the B.S. in Aeronautics program will gain enough ground and flight instruction to also earn the commercial pilot and instrument rating, as well as three other certificates and ratings. For instance upon graduation, students earn their Private Pilot, Instrument rating, Commercial single and multi-engine, CFI and CFII (Certified Flight instructor Instrument) along with their bachelors of science in Aeronautics.  CAU’s comprehensive flight training and education program is designed to be complete in 3 years!
  • Once you’ve graduated from the bachelor’s program, you’ll also receive a 500-hour reduction in the FAA-mandated Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) flight hour requirement (normally 1500 hours) and the opportunity to interview for a flight instructor position.
  • Lastly, now you are in a great position to maximize employment opportunities by applying to one of our many pipeline cadet programs through CAU like the Mesa Airlines Southern Airways Cadet Program.

Here at California Aeronautical University, we want to help jump start your career in the aviation industry! We’re here to help you navigate the application process, including answering questions on the path to become a pilot. To learn more, request a campus tour or give us a call at (661) 615-5915.

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