IFCC Building Partnership Base To Foster Crew Growth

In-Flight Crew Connections (IFCC) is building up its partnership base and bringing new technology online as it works to expand its role in staffing and strengthen flight departments. IFCC has provided contract staffing, direct hire recruiting, and payroll/HR services for more than two decades, working with both full-time contractors as well as flight department and other crew who have extra capacity to fill temporary roles.

“We’re not here just to fill open positions,” said IFCC CEO Jennifer Guthrie. “We’re here to help flight departments thrive by connecting them with the right talent, the right resources, and the right insights to plan for the future. Our goal is to be a true strategic partner, not just a staffing provider.”

The crew-staffing company has formed several partnerships over the past year with companies as it works to offer resources to contract crew members, especially those who may not have a position with a company to support their continuing education and recurrent education requirements.

At the same time, Guthrie said the partnerships expand beyond offerings to the contract pool, but also to its customer base, so they may have access to discounts from different training providers. These are designed to help encourage flight departments to “enhance their strategies for retention as well as filling positions,” she said.

Guthrie noted that both retention and attracting talent have become issues within the industry, and IFCC hopes to encourage crew growth both at flight departments and within the contract pool.

“Crew members want to go where they’re able to grow professionally—not only move up in aircraft types, but also where they are going to learn and be able to contribute more,” Guthrie said. “A lot of labor may not only be in transition, looking for temporary work, but they’re also maybe looking for a new position.”

Newly added partnerships include Aircare FACTS for emergency procedures and in-flight medical training; DaVinci for cabin safety, food handling, culinary, and other training; and Sajet Solutions for pilot professional enhancement and personal travel safety courses. These join partnerships with FlightSafety International, MedAire, Case Training Academy, and Scott IPC.

In addition to the new partnerships, IFCC has rolled out a Pilot Locator web-based tool that allows operators to see where pilots are available by aircraft type. In a beta test over the past year, the Pilot Locator is designed to bring transparency and efficiency to the temporary crew staffing process and help operators make data-informed decisions.