A group of former cadets is suing American Airlines over a training program they allege was dysfunctional, under-resourced, and rife with racist bullying.

The 18 plaintiffs were formerly enrolled in the American Airlines Cadet Academy, which provides a potential pathway to a pilot job at one of American’s wholly-owned regional subsidiaries. The program was marketed to non-white students as a fast and affordable way to enter the predominantly white U.S. airline industry, the lawsuit alleges, but was actually engaged in “reverse redlining” – specifically targeting racial minorities with false advertising, predatory loans, and a deeply flawed training regime.

“Defendants’ efforts to develop and train a new diverse generation of pilots would be commendable if the AACA were what it claimed to be – a high-quality, accelerated, cost-saving program in which people with little or no aviation experience could become licensed commercial pilots in one year,” attorneys for the plaintiffs wrote. “Instead, defendants targeted people of color for participation in a substandard program that defendants knew they had almost no chance of completing.”

Some of the former students were removed from the academy by American, while others left on their own. They are seeking at least $36 million in compensation.

The complaint also names American Airlines Federal Credit Union and Coast Flight Training and Management as defendants. American Airlines Federal Credit Union offers tuition financing for the Cadet Academy, and Coast is one of several flight schools that provide the training.

American defended the cadet program in a statement to AirlineGeeks.

“To run the best airline in the world, we need the best and brightest people – and the American Airlines Cadet Academy is an important part of that mission,” the carrier said. “Through this program, we have sought to expand the pipeline of talented cadets from all over the country, many of whom now enjoy rewarding careers at American Airlines. We take seriously the concerns raised by this group of former cadets, but we believe the allegations are without merit.”

Careers Derailed

According to the complaint – filed earlier this month in a federal court in California – there was a vast difference between how American and Coast initially represented the Cadet Academy and the actual experiences of the plaintiffs once they were enrolled.

The airline allegedly told students that they could and would achieve all the ratings required to become a commercial pilot within one year, but in reality, the majority of trainees did not complete the program, and most who did required longer than 12 months.

Collectively, the plaintiffs recalled only three cadets in any of their cohorts who successfully finished the academy in 12 months, which translates to 3.7% of their starting classes.

The plaintiffs were also given much less time to practice flying than promised, mainly because of insufficient aircraft and a shortage of teachers. The AACA initially committed to assigning each cadet a mentor, but availability was a persistent problem. Only four of the 18 plaintiffs received a mentor within the first three months of starting the program, according to the lawsuit, and eight never received a mentor at all.

Another point of contention is the cost of the program. Attorneys claim the students were quoted one price but were not told that factors outside of their control, such as flight scheduling and aircraft availability, could greatly increase that figure.

To support their training, the former cadets took on loans, some with rates as high as 11%. They now owe between $26,000 and $130,000, with the average being $83,000.

Bias in Training

The plaintiffs related many instances of racial bullying from flight instructors, including criticism of their hairstyles, being mocked and sworn at, and having their intelligence demeaned. One instructor allegedly suggested that a black student was struggling in the program because of their background.

Bias against minority students appeared in other ways, the lawsuit claims. The plaintiffs allegedly faced higher turnover among their instructors, encountered instructors who refused to teach them, had more difficulty than their white peers in setting up flying hours, were graded more harshly than their white peers, and were not shown the same respect and professionalism generally given to white students. These factors combined to gradually undermine their performance, attorneys said.

The issue of racist bullying was brought up to instructors, mentors, site directors, and the president of Coast, including at town hall-style meetings, but nothing was done to address the problem, the lawsuit states.

Plaintiffs also said that American officials were made aware of discrimination within the program, among other issues, but they did not offer meaningful assistance. In one exchange, the cadets were allegedly advised to “keep their heads down” and do the best they could in the face of adversity.

Flight instructors also harmed the plaintiffs financially by essentially “defaming” them to American, attorneys said, making it much less likely that they would ever be hired by the airline in the future.