CommuteAir Community

Kiah Watson’s journey to becoming a Dispatcher at CommuteAir is a testament to how unexpected opportunities can lead to fulfilling careers in aviation. She joined CommuteAir in November 2022, initially working in Crew Scheduling for a year before transitioning to Dispatch. Click below to hear her aviation story…

In honor of Black History Month, we celebrate the incredible story of Captain Marcel Kimbrel. His journey in aviation is one of hard work, perseverance, and a commitment to giving back to the next generation of aviators. Click below to hear his aviation story…

Meet Venkat Gertz, a dedicated Aircraft Maintenance Technician with a passion for aviation that started at a young age. Born and raised in India, Venkat was fascinated by the roar of jet engines and the sight of fighter jets flying over his home near an Indian Air Force Base. The thrill of watching these powerful aircraft inspired an early dream to become a naval aviator, with a particular admiration for the skill and precision needed to land a 50,000 lb. aircraft on a moving runway less than 1,200 ft long. Click below to hear his aviation story…

Meet Curt Levere, a dedicated aircraft maintenance apprentice at CommuteAir’s Washington Dulles (IAD) base, who joined the company in February 2023. His journey into aviation began over a decade ago as a customer service agent for Southwest Airlines. After a brief venture into the fitness industry as a certified personal trainer, he transitioned into physical therapy, working as a rehabilitation tech at various clinics. Click below to hear his aviation story…

Meet Sergio Aleman, our inspiring Managing Director of Materials and Sourcing at CommuteAir. Born in Chihuahua, Mexico, Aleman’s fascination with aviation ignited at an early age, despite his small town lacking an airport. Click below to hear his aviation story…

For 34 years, Mike Rouley, Line Maintenance Supervisor, has been an essential part of CommuteAir’s maintenance team. Currently he is based in Albany, but that hasn’t always been the case. Click below to hear his aviation story…

Cathy Davis is a CommuteAir original. Hired on July 17, 1989, Davis was a part of the company’s original crew of 13 pilots. Even from the very beginning, the C5 family banded into a tightly knit group. Click below to hear her aviation story…

Although Allison (Alli) Hill joined CommuteAir as a First Officer in 2023, she has years of prior flight experience as a pilot with the United States Coast Guard. Read on to hear Alli reflect on her time in the Coast Guard and her transition to being a C5 First Officer. Click below to hear her aviation story…

Meet Captain Peyton Arata!  Peyton joined CommuteAir as a First Officer straight out of flight school with her sights set on a United Flight Deck. Two years later, Captain Arata is heading to United as a member of the United Aviate program – Read on to hear Peyton reflect on her time flying with CommuteAir and click here to read her Featured Crew article from when she was a First Officer!

The Santa Bash is an annual event that CommuteAir has jointly hosted with the Lincoln Airport Authority (LAA) for the past several years – Community is everything to us at CommuteAir and we love to be able to bring the Lincoln community together for hot chocolate, crafts, fun…and aviation! This year, we had over 900 attendees join in on the festivities, click here to read more.

To support Breast Cancer Awareness Month, our pilot group teamed up with CommuteAir Cares to raise money by selling pink ties and epaulets for crew members to wear during October. The fundraising campaign, through personal contributions and matching donations from partner organizations & CommuteAir Company matching, the team raised a $3,280 donation to the Susan G. Komen Foundation!

September 11^th is a date of significance for all Americans, for those of us in commercial aviation it has a special place in our hearts. The 9/11 Day charity (https://911day.org/) seeks to transform 9/11 into a day of hope through volunteer service.  This year, the C5 Family assembled in Cleveland to do their part and contributed to packing over 250,000 meals for hungry children.

It’s no surprise that the CommuteAir Community LOVES airplanes so we also love National Aviation Day! With our partners at the Lincoln Airport Authority in Lincoln, Nebraska – We roll out the red carpet with festivities ranging from hangar tours to food trucks to our annual paper airplane contest and this year the finale was ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ played on a projector on the side of our hangar!

CommuteAir and United teamed up to host “100 Black Men,” a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating and empowering African American children and teens at our training center in Houston for a local ‘Aviation Day.’  Local youngsters got the chance to get up close and personal with our jets after a tour of our facility and a visit to the simulators!

Darrell is one of our Maintenance Field Trainers by day and a robotics mentor by night! The “Robo Huskies” are a 4th and 5th-grade robot-building team that has been mentored by Darrel for the past 12 years! “I really love being a mentor – For both our current A&P Mechanics and the future ones! I teach them gear ratios, units of measurement, and fractions for our builds,” Said Darrell.  A letter from the Dr. Higdon Elementary School administration is below:

Dear CommuteAir Team,

On behalf of ourselves, as well as the students on the Dr. Higdon Elementary Robo Huskies VEX IQ robotics teams, we thank you for supporting our teams and their trip to the World Championship in Dallas, TX in May by shipping our robots and other items we needed to compete so they would be ready for us when we got there!  As a team in a small, rural community, we appreciate your assistance in helping us make dreams come true for our students.  Your support goes far beyond just shipping our supplies; we appreciate your flexibility in allowing Darrell, one of your instructors, to be available to our students at after-school practices and allowing him to share his expertise with them so that they are competition-ready.  Darrell and his wife even go the extra mile by attending weekend competitions with us, and they even joined us at the World Championship in Dallas!  The kids like to say, “If Mr. Bramer can’t help us with these robots, nobody can!”

I appreciate that there are companies out there such as CommuteAir, and people out there like Darrell, that believe in the value of STEM education and are willing to support our students.  With CommutAir and Darrell on our team, the Robo Huskies are looking forward to another terrific season this coming year.

Everyone is welcome in the CommuteAir family, but more than that, they are honored and respected. We take great pride in everything we do to connect people and communities through aviation, and our employees are no exception.  Each year, we sponsor our employees’ entry into major Pride Marches across the nation and volunteers from the front line all the way to our executive leadership march to show their pride! Here’s the group from our HQ in Cleveland!

ATP Flight Schools and CommuteAir have partnered to provide students a new path to the friendly skies – By applying to our lottery with an essay, we’ve selected our first class of ATP students to receive up to $20,000 in tuition reimbursement assistance!

Peter is our first ATP student to complete the Tuition Reimbursement Program and transition to CommuteAir as a First Officer – We’re looking forward to seeing his fellow alumni join him in the field!

“I originally graduated college with a business degree but decided to follow in my father’s footsteps and become a United pilot. I chose CommuteAir because it’s a sizeable airline and has a community-focused culture!”

“I got into aviation because I was in a career that didn’t require much critical thinking and being a pilot is the exact opposite…plus it’s really fun!  I chose CommuteAir because I was really sold on the people and the culture, it’s different from a lot of regionals out there.”

“I chose flying because I wanted a career that was both skillful and fun, and didn’t want to be in the same place behind a desk every day.  My mentor is a United pilot and really sold me on the fact that CommuteAir was the right regional choice – he said it was the most fun flying he had ever done in his career!”

“I got into flying when I was a little kid – I started with my dad when I was just five years old!  I chose CommuteAir because of all the airlines I’ve spoken with, CommuteAir is one giant family. The culture, people and training are amazing!”

“After doing some research, I chose CommuteAir because they’re reliable, consistent, and care about professionalism.  Everyone I’ve talked to says the same thing, CommuteAir is a good airline to work for and they provide great training.”

“I picked aviation as a career because I knew I wanted three things: To travel, to not work behind a desk, and to have new challenges each day.  I joined CommuteAir because some of my closest friends work for the airline and they have nothing but great things to say about it.  The focus on people and the products they produce is something I want to be a part of.”

“Aviation runs deep in my family – My father, uncle, and grandfather were all United pilots and I want to do the same.

I chose CommuteAir because I felt the most comfortable and the opportunity offered through the Aviate program was great for me.”

“I got into aviation with my dad – he took me to an airshow and I really just fell in love with the sights and sounds of the whole thing.

I worked alongside United before becoming a pilot, and CommuteAir’s tight partnership with UA convinced me that this is where I want to fly!”

“I chose aviation at a young age – My mother worked at United growing up, and I got the chance to have experiences like “Take Your Kid to Work Day” at the airport.

CommuteAir caught my eye early on while I was working as a United Flight Attendant, and I’m looking forward to fly with them as a pilot!”

“My dad was an inspiration early on, and during college, I wanted a career that offered something a little more exciting…so I chose flying!

I chose to go with CommuteAir because of their efficient training program, but also because of their professionalism.”