Embry-Riddle and Atlantic Southeast Airlines Sign Direct Hire Agreement
Daytona Beach, Fla., Sept. 24, 1998 -- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Inc. (ASA) have signed an agreement to implement a New Hire Bridge Program designed to provide opportunities for Embry-Riddle graduates with an aeronautical science degree to become new hire pilots with ASA.
 The comprehensive agreement establishes selection criteria, specific course requirements, minimum flight experience requirements, and provides a potential career track for qualified aeronautical science graduates at Embry-Riddle's residential campuses. Under the agreement, selected students will be given consideration for employment with ASA immediately following graduation.
ASA, a "Delta Connection" carrier, currently operates more than 3,700 weekly flights and was recently named one of the global aviation and aerospace industry s best-managed companies by Aviation Week and Space Technology.
"We are pleased to enter into this agreement with ASA, Atlanta's largest regional carrier. This program allows some of our top graduates to move directly from the campus training environment to the cockpit where they will immediately be productive as flight crew members," said Embry-Riddle President Dr. George H. Ebbs.
Embry-Riddle and ASA will jointly screen candidates for selection who have completed the sophomore year of the aeronautical science degree program. The students selected will be given immediate consideration for employment pending successful completion of the bridge program. Both parties will agree on specific course and program development and Embry-Riddle instructors will maintain a current knowledge of and instruct students on ASA procedures and standards.
ASA will recommend curriculum changes to Embry-Riddle, incorporating company-specific procedural requirements. Embry-Riddle will substitute its capstone flight training course with the ASA EMB-120 first officer training program. ASA will make internship/co-op positions available to students selected for this program after the completion of the third year of the program and students will be encouraged to visit ASA s operations facility at Atlanta s Hartsfield International Airport. In addition, ASA will continue to serve on Embry-Riddle s Aeronautical Science Industrial Advisory Board.
Type-specific training for first officer qualification on ASA aircraft will be included in the aeronautical science curriculum and will not require additional expense for participating students. "This effectively eliminates the pay for training issue for our graduates," says Ebbs.
ASA Chief Pilot Dan Robertson stated, "Embry-Riddle has made substantial investments in acquiring the technology to better train pilots for careers in the airline industry. The university s rigorous pilot training program and the highly competitive screening and selection process used to identify candidates, combined with type-specific training in our aircraft, gives us a high level of confidence in the success of this program."
The agreement, which was signed today, will go into effect immediately.
Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Inc. recently announced that it has executed agreements with Bombardier, Inc. to acquire 27 additional Canadair Regional Jet aircraft. Under the terms of the agreements, ASA will purchase 12 new 70-passenger CRJ-700 aircraft and will exercise options for 15 additional 50-passenger CRJ-200 aircraft. The value of all ordered aircraft will be approximately $575 million.
Atlantic Southeast Airlines, a regional carrier serving the southeastern United States, provides service from its Atlanta and Dallas/Fort Worth hubs to about 60 other airports in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. More than 80% of Atlantic Southeast Airlines passengers connect with Delta Air Lines flights. ASA s stock is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market s National Market under the symbol ASAI.
Embry-Riddle, the world s largest fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, meets the needs of these and related industries through its educational, training, research and consulting activities. Degree programs through the master s level are offered in Daytona Beach, Florida, Prescott, Arizona, and more than 100 teaching sites in the U.S. and Europe.
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