Skyborne lands Excolere growth equity to expand US and UK pilot training
What's the deal? Skyborne Airline AcademyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has secured a growth equity investment from Excolere Equity PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Los Angeles-based private equity group focused on the education and human capital sectors. Financial terms were not disclosed. SkyborneDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, founded in 2017, trains commercial airline pilots in Vero Beach, Florida, and at Gloucestershire and Bournemouth Airports in the UK.
What's the endgame? Excolere's capital will support capacity growth at Skyborne's US and UK facilities, strengthen its airline relationships, and fund the student experience. The academy will keep operating under its own brand and existing management, with no planned changes to operations, partnerships, or student programs.
Who's involved? "This partnership with Excolere marks a significant milestone in Skyborne's growth," said chief executive officer Lee Woodward. Tony Miller, managing partner at Excolere, said the firm was "excited to support Skyborne's next chapter of growth."
Skyborne runs long-standing partnerships with airlines including IndiGo, easyJetDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and RyanairDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and says 95% of its graduates are in airline employment. It also offers fully-funded places in the UK through British Airways' Speedbird Pilot Academy and the Jet2 FlightPathDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, plus US financing via Sallie Mae and Stratus Financial.
The academy employs more than 400 staff and operates a fleet of over 60 aircraft across the UK, US, and India. It acquired FlightSafety Academy's Vero Beach facility in 2021.
Why now? The deal lands amid clear expansion in airline-linked training. Skyborne's latest IndiGo intake is its largest since that partnership began in 2019, while Airbus and ANA announced a new cadet-training program in Portugal in September. US rival ATP Flight School recently added another aircraft and training location to its network.
The signal: Investors are backing training capacity and direct airline pathways rather than speculative aviation bets. With terms undisclosed, the deal's scale can't yet be assessed — so this is a strategic vote of confidence in pilot pipelines, not proof of a sector-wide funding surge.
Read more: afm.aero
Image credit: Skyborne Airline Academy
