Augustus Gettas
Augustus Gettas joined Mesa in March 2022 as the Senior Director of Training and was promoted to his current position in October 2022. In his role, he oversees the Mesa Pilot Development Program (MPD), a major initiative to close the pilot shortage gap that has been affecting the industry over the last several years. The program provides pilots with the opportunity to accumulate up to 1,500 flight hours required to fly a commercial aircraft at Mesa Airlines, with no upfront out-of-pocket expense for flight time and priority status for employment as a First Officer at Mesa Airlines.
He has over 15 years of experience in the aviation industry, both as a pilot and as a manager. He started his career as a Flight Instructor and Supervisor of Flying at Western Michigan University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Aviation Flight Science. He then worked as a Pilot and First Officer for ExpressJet Airlines, flying EMB 135/145 for Continental Express. He also co-founded and served as the Chief Operating Officer of Intelijet, a private chartering agent, and worked as the General Manager of Operations for Curtiss Aero, an aircraft maintenance company. Prior to joining Mesa, he was an Aviation Safety Inspector and a Front-Line Manager for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in Detroit, Michigan.
Augustus is a strong entrepreneurial leader who energizes others, motivates team members, develops programs and business results based on organization goals. He makes difficult decisions consistent with organization values and policies and demonstrates follow through and executes well. He also manages the fiscal resources, budgets, and develops, implements, trains and monitors effectiveness of operational systems and procedures to ensure compliance to FAA and all other regulatory requirements.