OU flying high with airline partnerships

Brendan O' Too le loves the view from his classroom.

As a student of aviation studies at the University of Oklahoma, the cockpit of an airplane is where he does his best learning.

“It' s just the insane awesomeness of what I get to do,” O'Toole said. “Getting to spend every day in an airplane, the freedom that comes with that, it's what I want to do forever.”

Now thanks to a new partnership between OU and Southwest Airlines, students like O'Toole have every chance to make that dream a reality.

OU and Southwest Airlines announced a new partnership last week that will help aviation studies students earn their commercial airline wings sooner.

The partnership is part of Southwest Airlines Destination 225° program, which provides students the opportunity to become a competitively quali - fied candidate for future Southwest First Officer positions.

“OU has a rich history of aviation education and training, and the partnership will help our university provide excellent aviation training and flight education for future pilots,” said Ken Carson, director of the OU School of Aviation Studies.

Southwest Airlines currently employs about 250 pilots but will need 500 by 2023, according to its est i mates of projected expansion.

Alan Kasher, Southwest Airlines' vice president of flight operations, said the program will provide OU students with a unique opportunity.

“We're proud to partner with the University of Oklahoma in this comprehensive pilot-development mission designed to make a pathway to becoming a Southwest pilot an attainable goal for passionate, qualified individuals ,” Carson said .“This is simply the beginning; we look forward to working wit hO U for years to come.”

The traditional path to becoming a commercial airline pilot for a major airline like Southwest, American or Delta can take years and require recent grads to rise through the ranks of regional airlines before moving on.

O'Toole said he's excited at the prospect of flying for a major airline sooner rather than later.

“The opportunity is unique,” he said. “This is a really challenging degree and knowing that there is a clear reward and a demand for skilled pilots is awesome.”

This is just the latest partnership that OU has established with airlines, also sending graduates to similar programs with Envoy Air and P SA Airlines, two subsidiaries of American Airlines.

Victoria Croney, a senior Professional Pilot major at OU, is set to join Envoy sometime next year after graduation.

“We have great opportunities here at OU,” she said. “These partnerships the school has established are really exciting.”