ATP Flight School is set to unveil its newest airline pilot training center on Friday, April 29, at Page Field (FMY) in Fort Myers, FL. Up to 200 aspiring airline pilots will join ATP during an open house, previewing the recently constructed 19,000 square-foot facility.
To celebrate the opening of the new training center and the launch of the ATP-exclusive Spirit Direct Program earlier this year, Spirit will be flying in an Airbus A320neo to ATP’s open house at Fort Myers on April 29. Attendees will be able to tour the aircraft, part of Spirit’s growing fleet, which is planned to gain 24 new planes this year for a projected fleetwide total of 197 by the end of 2022. Spirit plans to accept another 33 planes in 2023 as well. Under the partnership, ATP flight instructors can progress straight to a first officer position with Spirit at 1,500 hours. Spirit recruiters will be hosting pre-scheduled, onsite interviews for eligible ATP flight instructors and information sessions for future and current students.
The Fort Myers facility is the second newly constructed airline training center ATP has opened in less than a year, with a 25,875 square-foot facility in Arlington, TX starting operations last fall. Both join ATP’s 70 nationwide locations and were designed to efficiently deliver ATP’s Airline Career Pilot Program, which takes students from zero time to flight instructors in just seven months. At Fort Myers, open and inviting common areas bring together ample classroom, briefing, and testing spaces. An expansive simulator bay will house brand-new state-of-art Frasca TruFlite simulators with immersive 220° wrap-around visuals, while a dedicated maintenance hangar maintains a fleet of multi-engine Piper Seminoles and all-glass cockpit Piper Archers.
“We love to see the new training center here in Southwest Florida because there are tremendous career opportunities right here in The Sunshine State. We serve seven Florida airports stretching from Miami to Pensacola, and we’re growing fast with more than 50 new planes expected for delivery over the next two years,” said Ryan Rodosta, Senior Director of Flight Operations and System Chief Pilot for Spirit Airlines. “We can’t wait to welcome the next generation of pilots that will take our Guests across our growing route map.”
“With a pilot shortage upon us, it is an exciting moment to unveil the Fort Myers training center,” said Michael Arnold, Director of Marketing, ATP Flight School. “The new facility is built on 35-plus years of experience delivering airline pilot training and presents state-of-art resources backed with the proven methodology that has made ATP the leading provider of airline pilots. The result is Florida’s premier airline training center, where students are on the fastest track to becoming airline pilots.”
“The Lee County Port Authority would like to welcome ATP Flight School as a new business partner and tenant on the North Ramp at Page Field,” says Ben Siegel, CPA, C.M., Executive Director of the Lee County Port Authority. “We hope this new location in Fort Myers will be a great success in developing and professionally training new airline pilots.”
