By Matthew Everett

A recent ruling in bankruptcy court aims to keep future pilots in the air. According to the deal, Mesa Air Group, Inc. will continue teaching students enrolled in the Arizona State Unversity’s Airline Bridge Training Program. The program is designed to provide students with a bachelor’s degree and all pilot qualifications required for entry as a Mesa first officer.

Mesa, based in Phoenix, is a regional airline operating connector flights for US Airways and United Airlines. Early this year they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Under the deal Mesa will operate the program for another year, until August 15 2011, and that they will pay $22,885 owed to Arizona State University.

The training is performed at a joint ASU Mesa facility at the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. Upon completion, trainees with the required qualifications are granted a preferential interview for a position as a first officer at Mesa.

Under a separate agreement, Mesa will extend another program with a private college in Machida, Japan whose students also enroll at Arizona State.

For more information see:
http://blogs.wsj.com/bankruptcy/2010/08/19/mesa-pilot-training-course-cleared-for-takeoff/

View a complete list of Arizona flight schools

Matthew Everett is a private pilot, aviation writer, and frequent contributor to AviationSchoolsOnline.com. You can follow him on twitter @leaving_tf or find his blog at http://leavingterrafirma.com.