Airlines Cut Pilot Hiring Numbers in First Half of 2024

Major U.S. carriers added nearly 3,000 fewer pilots so far this year compared to 2023.

Ryan Ewing

Thursday, July 11, 2024 at 10:24 AM ET

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Edited By: tccjeremy

An American Boeing 787 in Los Angeles [Credit: AirlineGeeks/William Derrickson]

Key Takeaways:

Major U.S. airlines significantly reduced pilot hiring in the first half of 2024, bringing in approximately 3,600 pilots compared to over 6,500 during the same period in 2023.
This slowdown is primarily attributed to ongoing aircraft delivery delays, particularly from Boeing, and a normalization of pilot attrition rates after a period of intense hiring.
Several major carriers, including Delta, American, and Southwest, have halted or drastically cut new pilot classes, with Spirit even planning to furlough around 200 pilots.

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Major U.S. airlines substantially scaled back pilot hiring during the first half of 2024. 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 the 6,509 hired during the same period in 2023.

Data from airline career consultancy group Future & Active Pilot Advisors (FAPA) measures hiring trends at 13 major U.S. carriers. The largest year-over-year swing was at Delta Air Lines, which hired 1,667 fewer pilots during the first half of 2024.