All nations' airlines rely on professional maintenance technicians to ensure airplanes safely and compliantly travel across the country, but demand for qualified airline maintenance technicians (AMT) will outpace supply as early as 2022. Over the next 20 years, Boeing forecasts 739,000 technicians will be needed globally, and 192,000 needed in North America alone.
To fill these highly skilled positions, Alaska Airlines is teaming up with AAR CORP., a leading provider of aviation maintenance services, to create a pipeline for qualified airline maintenance technicians for the Seattle-based airline. The Flow Through program is the first of its kind between an airline and an aviation services provider to focus on education and career training and to recruit new workers from diverse backgrounds.
Under the program, applicants complete their training and feed into a role at an AAR maintenance facility. If the applicant is in good standing and has completed three years with AAR as an aircraft technician, they qualify to apply for a career opening at Alaska and are guaranteed an interview. Alaska has 14 maintenance staff bases across its network.
“The Aviation Maintenance Technician shortage continues to grow as so many are retiring or leaving the business,” said Stan Mayer, general manager at AAR Airframe Maintenance in Oklahoma City, OK. “We believe the Alaska Airlines Flow Through agreement will help to attract new and upcoming technicians, and with our 19-year relationship, it only makes sense to help each other.”
