Airlines
Mesa Airlines Buys 29 Pipistrel Trainers for Pilot Development
A purchase order from Mesa Airlines for 29 Pipistrel Alpha Trainer 2 aircraft comes with options for another 75 of the two-seaters over the next year.
More than 2,700 Pipistrel Alpha trainers operate worldwide. (Photo: Pipistrel)
More than 2,700 Pipistrel Alpha trainers operate worldwide. (Photo: Pipistrel)

Mesa Airlines has purchased 29 two-seat Pipistrel Alpha Trainer 2 aircraft and placed options to buy another 75 over the next year to serve as the foundation of the company’s in-house training course called the Mesa Pilot Development Program. Announcing the move last Thursday, Mesa said it expects the program, which gives pilots the opportunity to accumulate the 1,500 flight hours required for a Part 121 first officer, to help alleviate a shortage of pilots at the airline and offer them a direct route to a long-term career.

“The pilot shortage could become a permanent feature of the airline industry if we don’t get more aviators into the system,” said Mesa chairman and CEO Jonathan Ornstein. “It is basic math. If there aren’t enough trained pilots, customers suffer from loss of service and high-ticket prices.”