Piedmont President/CEO packs the room with aviation students at Liberty University

Lynchburg, Va. — Over 200 aviation students packed the ballroom at Liberty University to hear Piedmont President/CEO Lyle Hogg speak about Piedmont and our pilot and mechanic opportunities. The event was designed to engage aviation students outside of the classroom setting, educate them on our company and meet Piedmont’s CEO. Liberty University is one of Piedmont’s cadet and maintenance partner schools.

“The aviation industry is growing and there are opportunities all over the world,” said Lyle. “There are so many opportunities at Piedmont from being a pilot, flight attendant or mechanic to working in safety, network planning or ground handling. Piedmont has doubled our passenger seat capacity in the past two and a half years and I am very pleased with the service we provide as a wholly owned regional carrier to American Airlines.”

Lyle spoke to students about his 35-year aviation career and why Piedmont is a great place for students to begin their aviation careers. “Our partnership with American allows Piedmont pilots to flow directly to American,” said Lyle. “You can say ‘I want to be a pilot for American Airlines’ and beginning your pilot career with Piedmont can get you there. I wish I was in your seat and could do it all over again.”

Lyle answered questions from dozens of students in an informal Q and A. “It’s really incredible to have a notable, experienced speaker come and talk to us and give real insight about future careers,” said Liberty commercial aviation student Jacob Seitz. “One of the biggest things I learned from today was that I need to be doing more extracurricular activities in my free time to build my resume. I had heard of Piedmont before and now I have a face to the name. After today, I will be taking a more serious look at Piedmont.”

After the event, students and faculty were invited to Lynchburg Regional Airport (LYH) to check out an Embraer-145 up close and take a look inside. Two aircraft maintenance technicians from our nearby Roanoke maintenance base were on-hand to answer their questions about the aircraft.

“The maintenance students study general aviation aircraft and don’t often get a chance to see a commercial aircraft up close,” said Kevin. “For the students to have an opportunity to see a commercial aircraft up close and talk to our mechanics was a big deal to them. Providing an aircraft for them to see and having our CEO visit Liberty to talk with them shows that Piedmont cares.”