United Airlines announced that they are going to hire hundreds of pilots by next month. This information came from an internal email sent to their staff. The Chicago-based airline is the first major airline to announce hiring pilots. According to the email, United will start hiring 300 pilots that had conditional job offers or training last year.
A few months ago, airlines tried to cut their losses by letting go of workers including pilots. Some airlines urged pilots to take early retirement packages as airlines struggle to keep everything afloat during the pandemic. United, on the other hand, prevented furlough by reaching an agreement with their pilots’ union. The Air Line Pilots Association agreed to take reduced hours for some of the junior pilots.
Then, the $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package arrived last month. This prevented airlines from doing job cuts.
United Hiring 300 Pilots
United’s senior vice president of flight operations Brian Quigley said that “we’ll start with the approximately 300 pilots”. However, there is a priority list. United will choose those who “either had a new hire class date that was canceled, or who had a 2020 conditional job offer”.
At the US Chamber of Commerce Aviation Summit, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby was optimistic about the current travel demand. He said that “domestic leisure demand has almost entirely recovered”. He described it as a sign of a “pent up desire to travel”. Kirby also expects a return of positive cashflow.
Collectively, the US airline industry lost $35 billion last year. The good news is that things are improving. With a steady increase in bookings, it looks like the public is now comfortable to travel again. One reason for this is the steady number of Americans getting vaccinated. By April, the Biden administration expects 90% of Americans are going to be eligible for vaccination.
United isn’t the only airline that is looking to expand its operations. Spirit Airlines also mentioned last month that it is hiring flight attendants and pilots. Allegiant Air and Sun Country Airlines, on the other hand, are expected to hire this year as well.
