Courtesy photo
MANHATTAN— For Flex Air, a new year means new and exciting partnerships and opportunities that in turn are expected to be a bonus for the Manhattan economy also.
The Midwest’s premier flight training center started the first quarter with its first set of students in the new Rotor Transition Program for Trans States Airlines. In anticipation of graduating their first candidates, representatives from Trans States and Flex Air staff celebrated an official “launch” of the program.
The flight school is proud to produce flight training at a price 20 percent below the national average.
“Being located in Kansas gives us the advantage of having a lower overhead, thus allowing us to be extremely competitive on pricing, “ said Charles Copeland, Flex Air’s chief pilot. “This is one of the main factors of why Trans States Airlines chose us to train their new pilots. “The partnership with Trans States isn’t just with us, it’s also with the airport and the community. We are blessed to be at an airport that is ready to grow with us. We’re currently at four aircraft and expect to have eight by the end of the year as well as an expansion plan for our offices on the field.”
Flex Air also has invested in student housing for this project, expecting to have 4-6 students residing and training in Manhattan at a time through this program.
“As we continue to grow the RTP, the majority of our students has shifted from being local students, to students that are in Manhattan just to train with us.” Copeland noted. “This will produce an injection of more than $500,000 over the next five years into the local economy.”
Flex Air is a premier yet budget-friendly flight school at the Manhattan Regional Airport. Started in 2011 with just one flight instructor, Flex now has four aircraft and six instructors on staff.