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 substantially scaled back pilot hiring in the first half of 2024, bringing in just over 3,600 pilots compared to 6,509 during the same period in 2023.
This reduction is mainly due to ongoing aircraft delivery delays and normalizing attrition rates, leading several major carriers like Delta to halve hiring and others such as American and Southwest to halt new classes for the rest of 2024, with Spirit Airlines even planning pilot furloughs.
Despite the significant decrease from last year's record levels, current pilot hiring remains above pre-pandemic numbers, signaling a shift towards a more "normalized" growth pattern, though UPS was an exception, increasing hiring for a new contract.

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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.