United Doubles Down on Pilot Hiring, Sets New Record

Amid a recent flurry of headlines around slowdowns in hiring among some airlines, United is keeping its foot on the gas.

Ryan Ewing

Monday, November 20, 2023 at 03:19 PM ET

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A United 777-200 in San Francisco [Photo: AirlineGeeks/Ben Suskind]

Key Takeaways:

United Airlines set a new record for monthly pilot hires in October 2023 with 270 new aviators, and is on track to exceed its annual target of 2,300 new pilots for the year.
This hiring surge by United contrasts with a general slowdown in pilot recruitment across other major U.S. airlines in late 2023, with some carriers halting hiring altogether.
Despite its success in attracting new first officers, United and the broader airline industry are grappling with an increasing shortage of experienced captains, which is impacting operational capacity.

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Amid a recent flurry of headlines around slowdowns in hiring among some airlines, United is keeping its foot on the gas. The Chicago-based carrier just hired a record number of pilots in October.

According to data from FAPA – a pilot career advisory group that’s been tracking hiring trends across 13 major U.S. airlines for over 30 years – United hired 270 pilots in October 2023, the carrier’s highest amount of new hires in a single month. This boils down to nearly 70 new hires each week.