FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., April 3, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As Silver Airways continues to proactively pursue innovative initiatives to attract and retain quality pilots, the next generation regional airline today announced it has increased its new hire signing bonus to $12,000. This doubles Silver's previous signing bonus and is the highest pilot bonus in the regional airline industry.
Silver began its pilot bonus program in November 2013, providing qualified new first officers with a $6,000 signing bonus, half of which is paid upon completion of initial training and the other half after a pilot's first year of service. This week, Silver doubled that bonus and is now offering an additional $6,000 to be paid upon completion of two years of service.
"We have had good success with our pilot signing bonus, and this increased financial incentive will not only help us attract and retain more qualified pilots, it will also allow us to enhance our commercial success and continue to grow as a new independent regional airline," said Silver Airways President and CEO Dave Pflieger. "Increasing the size of our flight operations team will also assist us as we continue to rationalize our fleet and network, focus on our core strengths, and better position Silver for continued success. In short, it is a win-win for our pilots, our guests, and our more than 900 team members."
This latest announcement is one of many proactive efforts underway at Silver to attract and retain quality pilots and other team members. On March 17, 2014, the airline signed a preferential hiring agreement with Broward College, which when added to its other aviation partnerships, will further assist the airline with finding top caliber new pilots. In addition, the airline is also investigating tuition assistance and scholarship programs with these and other certified aviation colleges and universities.
Additional information on Silver's upcoming pilot recruiting events is available in the Career Opportunities section at www.silverairways.com.
About Silver Airways
Silver Airways Corp. (IATA: 3M) is a U.S. owned and operated airline operating approximately 170 daily scheduled flights to/from 38 destinations in Florida, Bahamas, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia and Washington, D.C. The airline, which offers more flights within Florida to the Bahamas than any other U.S. airline, has valued partnership and codeshare agreements with United Airlines and interline agreements with American Airlines, Bahamasair, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, US Airways and Hahn Air.
Silver is a 2013 two-time award winner, having been recognized by its industry and the traveling public. In February 2013, it was named the recipient of Air Transport World's (ATW) 2013 Regional Airline of the Year Award, the first U.S. airline to win regional aviation's top honor since 2008. This award recognized Silver's outstanding achievements, as well as the company's contributions toward elevating the entire regional aviation industry overall. In October 2013, Silver was named one of the Top 10 "Best U.S. Airlines" in the prestigious Condé Nast Traveler's 26th annual 2013 Readers' Choice Awards.
The Silver fleet is comprised of Saab 340B Plus aircraft (with a capacity of 34 passengers in a spacious, noise reduction equipped cabin), each powered by highly reliable, fuel-efficient GE jet-turbine propeller engines. The airline also operates Beechcraft 1900D aircraft (maximum seating capacity of 19 passengers) in the airline's Cleveland network.
The company is privately owned by Victory Park Capital, a Chicago-based investment firm that launched the airline in May 2011.
Visit Silver Airways at www.silverairways.com.