Textron Aviation announced this week an agreement with ATP Flight School for the purchase of an additional 40 Cessna Skyhawk aircraft to be delivered beginning in 2026. This addition to ATP's existing fleet of nearly 225 Skyhawks, deployed across more than 85 training centres nationwide, will provide students with access to a modern and advanced fleet in support of their pilot career aspirations.
This agreement marks the fourth fleet purchase, amounting to a total of 135 of Cessna Skyhawks, for ATP's Airline Career Pilot Program in just over a year, as the flight school scales to train 20,000 airline pilots by 2030.
"For over six decades, the legendary Cessna Skyhawk has inspired the next generation of pilots and served as the world's leading flight trainer," said Chris Crow, vice president, Piston Sales. "We are delighted to continue our long-standing relationship with ATP and provide their students access to the most produced single-engine aircraft globally."
The Cessna Skyhawk is renowned as the go-to training aircraft in the industry. Its steady flight dynamics, cutting-edge avionics and reliable dispatch history have made it ATP's trusted training platform for the past three decades.
"With already one of the youngest, most modern fleets at scale, the firm orders for 135 Skyhawks are for direct fleet growth, not replacement. Over the next three years, ATP will be expanding its Cessna fleet by 60% and delivering over 40 new state-of-art planes to ATP students each year through 2026," said Michael Arnold, vice president of marketing, ATP Flight School. "ATP's fleet expansion has been responsibly paired with an investment in its Florida-based flight operations centre. Dedicated safety, tech ops, and quality assurance departments promote a high level of safety across the ATP network with real-time monitoring, risk mitigation, and safety trend analysis as they orchestrate 800 daily flights. This structured airline-based approach to flight operations provides students with a safety-focused environment from the onset of their professional careers as they become airline pilots on the most efficient path possible."
ATP is the nation's largest flight school, providing students with the most efficient path to a successful airline pilot career. For over 35 years, ATP has been the leader in professional flight training and supplying pilots to airlines.
ATP's fast-track, fixed-cost Airline Career Pilot Program takes students from zero experience to commercial multi-engine pilots and flight instructors (CFI, CFII, MEI) in seven months. Offered at 84 locations nationwide, students gain the competitive edge with airline-oriented training, nationally awarded flight instructors, new aircraft, dedicated training and career support, airline-sponsored tuition reimbursement, airline direct programs, and access to 38 hiring partnerships. Airlines hire more Airline Career Pilot Program graduates than from any other flight school.
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.jpg "The clean-sheet design of the Longitude integrates the latest technology throughout the aircraft, bringing customers the lowest direct operating cost in its class. Photo Textron Aviation")