Former American Airlines CEO launches nonprofit to address pilot shortage, lack of diversity

AA's former chairman and his wife are visiting schools and partnering with community organizations to provide scholarships and mentors

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The former CEO of American Airlines wants to solve the nationwide pilot shortage by removing barriers that keep women and people of color from pursuing aviation.

“We’re not going to have the best of the best if some have barriers that others don’t have,” said former American Airlines CEO Doug Parker.

Together with his wife Gwen, they're launching the nonprofit Breaking Down Barriers. It will work to identify young people in underserved communities and create a pipeline of pilots ready to hire.

“They have the ability to do it they just don’t know it’s something they can do,” Parker said.

Gwen and Doug Parker talk about their nonprofit, Breaking Down Barriers, that aims to improve diversity among airline pilots.
NBC 5 News
Gwen and Doug Parker talk about their nonprofit, Breaking Down Barriers, which aims to improve diversity among airline pilots.

According to data from the Women in Aviation Advisory Board provided to the FAA, only 7% of U.S. airline pilots are female.

Numbers from the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals show fewer than 4% of pilots are Black, with Black female pilots only accounting for 0.5%.

“They don’t see people that look like themselves that have these jobs in their communities but in a few years they will,” Parker said.

The couple is visiting schools and partnering with community organizations to provide scholarships and mentors.

Parker said awareness and the financial burden are the two biggest barriers.

Pilot training is expensive with costs soaring up to $100,000 to meet required flight hours. For some, that cost is on top of college tuition and fees.

Removing the barriers, Parker said, will help diversify and strengthen the industry and community.

“It’s a wonderful profession. It’s a noble profession,” Parker said. “The only problem we see is that there are some people who think that it’s not even available to them. It’s simply not true. It’s available to all. It should be available to all.”

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