Sun Country Airlines Launches Pilot Bridge Program at South Dakota State

SD – Students in the flight training track of the Aviation Program at South Dakota State University (SDSU) can now apply for the Pilot Bridge Program, a partnership established last month between SDSU and Sun Country Airlines. The program gives students the opportunity to jump start their career by gaining admission to a three-month pilot training program while still in school. Students must successfully pass through an interview process to be accepted into the program. Upon completion of the pilot training course they then become eligible for a full-time position with Sun Country after graduating.

The program is very competitive because it enables successful candidates to bypass a large portion of the typical pilot career path: that of having to become a flight instructor to build time and then secure a position with a smaller regional carrier before advancing to a larger airline. In short it is a pathway for students to enter the workforce immediately upon graduation and to enjoy an accelerated timeline to captaincy and international routes as well as enabling mentorships for the airline to nurture its internal workforce. Students benefit greatly from those lifestyle elements while networking and building connections within the industry. This year SDSU enrolled its largest class ever of 200 students in the Aviation Program, and interviews for the Pilot Bridge Program will be held in November. The school is also building a new hangar at Brookings Regional Airport (BKX) to accommodate the program’s aircraft, with offices for instruction and administrative activities.

Sun Country is a low-cost provider of scheduled, charter, and cargo flights based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their Pilot Bridge program was established in 2018 through a partnership with Minnesota State University at Mankato. The airline is also partnered through the bridge program with the University of North Dakota.