Breeze Airways is ready to start hiring pilots and flight attendants that are interested in working for "The Worlds Nicest Airline." To secure a position with the David Neeleman-founded airline, prospective candidates must first enroll as full-time online students at Utah Valley University (UVU).

Located in Orem, Utah, UVU offers master's, bachelor's, and associate degree classes geared towards an aviation career. While UVU does have some out-of-state students, the majority come from Utah and are followers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Employees will get up to $6,000

All candidates accepted by Breeze Airways will receive up to $6,000 per year to help pay towards their tuition and live-in company housing chosen by the airline. Presumably, the housing will be located near the airlines yet to be disclosed hubs. Other perks include free transportation to and from the airport and a free trip home each month on top of their wages.

To qualify for the program, potential employees must have a high school diploma and be at least 20-years-old. They must also complete their degree course in four years while maintaining a 3.0 Grade Point Average. A 3.0 GPA is equivalent to receiving a B grade across all classes.

JetBlue has a similar program

The downside to the job offer is that potential employees must enroll at UVU and pay the tuition costs themselves. They will not receive any reimbursement from Breeze Airways until they have completed their training. It also raises the question of how many hours a month Breeze Airways plans to schedule its new hires, given their obligation to take classes and maintain a 3.0 GPA.

Breeze Airways is not the only American carrier to have an educational program for its employees. New York City-based JetBlue, another airline founded by David Neeleman, also helps its employees to earn a degree while working for the airline.

What else do we know about Breeze Airways?

Breeze Airways was supposed to start flying sometime this year, but a start date has now been pushed back to March of 2021 due to the COVID-19 global pandemic and the devastating effect it has had on the airline industry. Despite airline CEO's saying they do not expect to see a recovery to 2019 levels until 2023; Breeze Airways plans to push ahead with its plans.

Breeze Airways is currently in Phase 3 of its certification process with the Federal Aviation Administration (FDA)  and began to start training pilots back in September.

Breeze Airways signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for 60 A220-300s in 2018 and expects to get its first delivery sometime in 2021. Until then, it plans to fly with leased Embraer E195s from Azul Brazilian Airlines. This will also benefit Azul as the São Paulo-based airline looks to offload older planes in favor of new Embraer 195-E2 jets.

The idea of paying your employees money while they work to receive a degree is certainly a good idea, as is the housing and transportation options. It will be interesting to see how many applications Breeze Airways receives and how many candidates the airline hires.

What do you think about Breeze Airways' initiative? Please tell us your thoughts in the comments.