Delta: ‘More Normalized’ Industrywide Pilot Hiring Anticipated

Airline estimates 5,000 new pilot jobs across the business next year.

Monday, October 14, 2024 at 02:02 PM ET

Verified

A Delta A220 at Paine Field in Washington state. [Credit: AirlineGeeks/Katie Zera]

Key Takeaways:

Delta Air Lines significantly reduced pilot hiring in 2024 by over 50% and forecasts a "more normalized" tempo for next year.
The broader U.S. airline industry is also decelerating pilot hiring from post-pandemic record highs, expecting to return to 2019 levels (around 5,000 pilots industrywide) in the coming year.
This normalization in pilot supply and training is projected to help Delta restore its regional flight capacity to pre-pandemic levels by summer 2025.

See a mistake? Contact us.

After cutting its pilot hiring figures by roughly 50 percent in 2024, Delta Air Lines is forecasting a “more normalized” tempo next year. Most major U.S. carriers hired pilots at record numbers soon after the pandemic but have since throttled back.

The Atlanta-based airline hopes to return its regional capacity to pre-pandemic levels in summer 2025, driven by improvements in pilot supply, company leadership shared during a third-quarter earnings call on Thursday.