In 2009, Mike Hoglund and Matt Simondet both entered a training classroom filled with 28 eager new pilots.

“We all wore jeans and baseball hats when we arrived, and I remember our instructor freaking out. We obviously were rookies at the time and learned a lot of lessons since then – including how to dress,” Matt laughed.

Mike and Matt, former Endeavor pilots and now Delta pilots-in-training, flew and recruited for Endeavor Air for the past 13 years.

After starting out as Minneapolis-based First Officers, the two quickly became good friends. Little did they know, they would follow the same path until the end of their time at Endeavor, and continue that into their careers at Delta.

The two pilots flew the line for about five years and soon decided to get more involved at Endeavor.

Matt began his position as a pilot recruiter in late 2014. He started out as a field recruiter and traveled to different universities and events to recruit new pilots and began working as an office recruiter in 2016.

Mike soon joined him as a pilot recruiter in 2015.

“It’s been something I’ve really enjoyed over the years. You used a different part of your brain, and it was a good challenge every day,” Matt said. “You see a little bit of everything when you’re on this team, and you use that knowledge in every part of your life.”

“It’s been a really good experience and I think it made us better pilots,” Mike said. “This job was very fulfilling because I think we made a difference at this company.”

“It’s just nice to have another friend at work,” Matt continued. “We could always bounce ideas off each other and help each other out on the line.”

Julie Noyes, Manager of the Endeavor Pilot Recruitment team, has seen Mike and Matt’s impact on the Endeavor culture firsthand, as they have worked together for the past six years.

“I started with Matt and Mike on the pilot recruitment team. They helped form the processes that we needed from an experienced pilot,” Julie said. “We could always count on them to help our team hire the best pilots. But most importantly, they were positive people and fun to be around.”

Over the past seven years of Mike and Matt interviewing and hiring pilot candidates, Matt claims that his most favorite part is seeing the entire process unfold.

“The best was to see a full-circle moment. There have been several times where I would recruit someone, hire them and end up flying with them on a trip several months later,” Matt said.

Unfortunately, Mike and Matt never had the opportunity to fly together, both upgrading to Captain in the fall of 2015.

At Delta, Mike and Matt are in the same training class, but will be flying different aircraft. Mike will be flying the 737 and Matt will be flying the AirBus.

As Matt and Mike begin their training at Delta Air Lines, they reflected on the past 13 years with Endeavor and look forward to the future.

“I’m definitely nervous, as it’s a big change after almost 15 years, but I am looking forward to it,” Mike said.

“We always tell people that we set them up for success, so now we can finally test that out and see if it’s true,” Matt joked. “It’s definitely the end of an era, and it was a good one.”