United Airlines to Resume Pilot Hiring Next Month... A Signal of COVID-19 Recovery

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] United Airlines, one of the four major U.S. airlines, announced plans to hire hundreds of pilots starting next month. This marks the first case among major U.S. airlines to resume pilot recruitment, interpreted as a strong signal that air travel demand, which had contracted due to COVID-19, is recovering.

According to CNBC on the 1st (local time), Brian Quigley, Vice President of United Airlines, stated in a memo sent to internal staff that the company will begin hiring hundreds of pilots starting next month.

Vice President Brian Quigley said, "With vaccination rates increasing and travel demand on the rise, I am pleased to share that United Airlines will restart pilot hiring, which was halted last year. We will prioritize hiring about 300 pilots who had previously received part-time job offers or whose new hires were canceled last year."

United Airlines' resumption of pilot recruitment is seen as a response to the recent surge in air travel demand. According to the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, an average of 1.2 million people passed through security checkpoints daily last month, a 15% increase compared to a year ago. Notably, on the 21st of last month (local time), the daily number of air travelers exceeded 1.5 million, marking the highest since March of last year.

Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, said, "Cash flow is improving, and we expect cash flow excluding debt repayments to turn positive. Domestic leisure demand appears to have almost fully recovered."

Not only United Airlines but also American Airlines has reported that 80% of its aircraft are filled with passengers.

Doug Parker, CEO of American Airlines, said, "March was the best period since the pandemic."

Meanwhile, low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines also resumed hiring pilots and flight attendants last month, and another low-cost carrier, Sun Country Airlines, announced plans to hire this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.