Collaboration Between Pegasus Airlines and ÖzÜ

Renowned as a key player in the development and improvement of the Turkish aviation industry, Pegasus Airlines entered into a new collaboration. With its more than 20 years of experience in pilot type-rating trainings, Pegasus Airlines joined its forces with Özyeğin University, the leading Turkish higher education institution that offered a brand new approach to the academic world with its applied education integrated with the business world and sectors.
 
In observance of this new collaboration, a signature ceremony was held at Fiba Holding on June 26, 2014 with the participation of Ali Sabancı, Chairman of Pegasus Airlines, Hüsnü Özyeğin, Chairman of the Özyeğin University Board of Trustees, Prof. Esra Gençtürk, Rector of Özyeğin University, and Assistant Prof. Hatice Küçükönal, Director of the Özyeğin University School of Aviation.

 

According to the agreement made between Pegasus Airlines and Özyeğin University, Pegasus Airlines will provide Type Rating Trainings to eligible prospective pilots who have completed their 4-year undergraduate education at the Özyeğin University School of Aviation. Taking pride in its more than 20 years of experience in offering Master’s Degree education in aviation with its Type Rating Training Organization (TRTO) certification, Pegasus Airlines will also recruit the pilots who successfully complete the training, if there is any available position, and thus will continue to contribute to the recruitment of high-quality aviation staff with academic distinction in the aviation industry.

 
Ali Sabancı, Chairman of Pegasus Airlines, gave a speech during the signature ceremony and shared his thoughts about the newly forged alliance with Özyeğin University: “Today we have taken an important step to share our more than 20 years of expertise in Pilot Training with the academia. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Özyeğin University for their cooperation which is an investment in the future of the aviation industry. As Pegasus, we are always in the pursuit of being a pioneer and breaking new ground. Perhaps we have not founded the aviation industry in Turkey but we are changing it with our innovations. One of the key areas of this change and development is education. We are pleased to take responsibility and contribute to the development of the industry.” Sabancı also reminded that they are certified to offer Master’s Degrees in aviation with their Type Rating Training Organization (TRTO) certification for more than 20 years now and with this certification, they have been training pilots for the industry for the past 10 years. Sabancı also noted that they feel honored to share their know-how and expertise in aviation with Özyeğin University in a quest to contribute to graduating prospective pilots vested with more developed skills and competences and that they take pride in seeing the pilots they prepared flying in the leading airlines of Europe

 

Pegasus Airlines has offered Type Rating trainings to more than 1500 pilots now with its 42 flight instructors and a Boeing simulator. The company envisages to add 100 Airbuses to its fleet over the course of next 7 years as of 2016 and therefore also plans to purchase an Airbus simulator in the near future.
 
Hüsnü Özyeğin, Board of Trustees Chair of Özyeğin University  which brought a fresh approach to the education world in Turkey by integrating academia with the business world and sectors, also remarked about the newly forged partnership and said: “When I  founded this university, my dream was to contribute to preparing young, distinctive graduates to build the future of our country, who will rise above the crowd and make a difference. In a quest to succeed in a global world, we endeavor to prepare our students as individuals who can adapt themselves to changes around the world and in fact be one step ahead and beat the changes. The most important need of the rapidly growing aviation industry is high-quality human resources. Today we currently have 5099 pilots in our country and this number is expected to rise to 8500 in 2018 and 9900 in 2023. I believe that with our academic collaboration with Pegasus Airlines, we will accelarate the cultivation of the necessary highly qualified human resources equipped with hands-on experience in the  aviation industry.”

 
Prof. Esra Gençtürk, Özyeğin University Rector, said:  “Through our innovative education model, we offer our students an integrated academic model with sectors and life.  Our students are prepared for business life while studying. During their studies, they work, complete their internship at home or abroad, and shape their careers. And thus when they finally start their professional life, they start a few step ahead of others with their professional capabilities. Through the agreement of cooperation we have signed with Pegasus Airlines today, our School of Aviation graduates will set themselves apart from others with their academic excellence amplified by the Type Rating trainings offered by Pegasus. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Pegasus Airlines for giving us this opportunity.”
 
The cooperation agreement made between Pegasus Airlines and Özyeğin University also entails offering internship opportunities to Özyeğin University Air Transportation Program students each year up to a certain quota. Furthermore, Pegasus also aims to contribute to education and share its sectoral know-how and expertise through seminars and conferences to be held in the field of aviation, or in the aviation-related fields of finance or marketing.