Some U.S. airlines hired a more-than-expected number of pilots last month.
A Southwest 737-700 at Paine Field (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Katie Zera)
Major U.S. airlines reported a modest overall increase in pilot hiring last month. Data from FAPA — Future and Active Pilot Advisors — shows 13 major U.S. carriers onboard 301 new aviators last month, up from 187 in June.
During peak summer months, it isn’t uncommon for airlines to slow hiring tempos to flex training resources in the daily operation. FAPA, which has tracked pilot hiring data for over three decades, called the increase “a ray of sunshine through the clouds” in its monthly bulletin, citing a so-called “surge” in hiring at three carriers.
Leading the hiring pack were United, UPS, and Southwest. United hired the most pilots in July with 130 joining the airline’s ranks.
Cargo operator UPS hired 74 new pilots as it gears up for a new contract with the U.S. Postal Service starting next month. Earlier this year, Southwest said it would pause new hire classes through the end of 2024. However, the airline reported that it onboarded 22 new pilots in July.
A spokesperson from the Dallas-based carrier confirmed the uptick, attributing it to hiring obligations associated with Southwest’s Destination 225 pathway program.
“As we have seen from previous months and bulletins, with hiring numbers decreasing and varied rates, there is little reliability in pacing out each month into annually projected numbers,” FAPA said in its August bulletin. “The most honest thing we can say is the 2024 estimate provided by all major airlines was around 5,000 total pilots hired.”
The firm noted that four carriers did not provide hiring projections this year. So far in 2024, major airlines hired a total of 3,915 pilots.
July 2024’s pilot hiring figures are still a far cry from the 1,098 pilots hired by major U.S. carriers at the same time last year. During the first half of 2024, airlines hired approximately 40% fewer pilots on a year-over-year basis.
Citing aircraft delivery delays and normalizing attrition levels as reasons for the slowdown, airlines hired just over 3,600 pilots from January through June, a decrease from 6,509 during the same period in 2023.
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