American Airlines says it will need 1,350 pilots by 2022 as it ramps up hiring demands

American Airlines hopes to hire up to 1,350 pilots by the end of 2022 as demand increases due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

American Airlines, based in Fort Worth, announced its employees on Wednesday that it hopes to hire 350 more new pilots this year and is adding 50 new employees to its plan to hire 300 by the end of 2021. And in 2022, the company plans to hire 1,000 airmen. increased from its previous forecast to 600 pilots.

“Although we have been limited in pilot growth over the past year, we are now moving ahead with our plans to recruit, hire and train the best and most diverse pilots in the industry,” said Chip Long, American vice president of flight, in an E. -Mail Wednesday to the staff.

According to the MIT Airline Data Project, the average American Airlines pilot made $ 238,000 in salary and benefits in 2019.

American on Thursday reported a forecasted loss of $ 1.1 billion for the second quarter and has spent more than a year adjusting its flight schedules, network, and workforce as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hit the aviation industry shapes.

More than 16 months after COVID-19 was declared a global health emergency, demand is now almost back to pre-pandemic levels and airports and planes are nearly full, although airlines are still flying fewer flights than in 2019. Airlines hope to change by the end of 2021 and next year.

“As an airline, our earnings and spending performance for the quarter was better than expected,” Long said in the email. “As an industry, the demand for travel is returning.”

Airlines across the country are now looking for pilots after major cuts since early 2021. American Airlines has lost around 1,000 pilots to early retirement through various buyout packages in the past year and a half. These buyouts were aimed at reducing labor costs while airlines lost cash. But now that demand is recovering, airlines need pilots to carry growing numbers of passengers.

“While the numbers are not at 2019 levels and demand itself looks different right now, this is the recovery road we are all focused on,” Long said.

American Airlines also has approximately 1,000 pilots on leave who were on leave during the COVID-19 pandemic and are being trained for re-service in the air.

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines has announced that it plans to hire 120 new pilots in 2021. Southwest posted these positions last week and plans to keep the positions open until August 1st.

“Southwest expects to hire pilots in 2022; However, we don’t have any numbers today to confirm, ”said Brian Parrish, spokesman for Southwest Airlines, in an email.

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