After adding 194,000 employees in a post-Covid hiring spree, U.S. airlines are now cool on hiring.

• After a massive hiring spree, U.S. airlines have relaxed, if not stopped, adding new jobs.
• Airlines laid off thousands of employees during the pandemic, only to quickly rehire them as travel demand surged again.

Since 2021, U.S. airlines have added approximately 194,000 jobs, with companies ramping up hiring after months of being stagnant due to the pandemic. However, the industry is now slowing down on its hiring spree.

Despite being near their staffing requirements, airlines are still facing challenges that contribute to the slowdown.

The surge of flights in the U.S. has resulted in lower fares and reduced airline profits. However, demand growth has slowed down. Late arrivals of airplanes from both Boeing and Airbus have forced airlines to reconsider their expansion plans. There is a shortage of engines, causing some carriers to defer airplane deliveries. Additionally, labor costs have increased after pilots and mechanics received raises in their contracts, which was their first in several years.

The cost of flying on low-cost airlines is expected to increase by approximately 32%, 35%, and 39% over the same period, according to Syth's data, which is adjusted for flight length.

Easing hiring

The U.S. jobs report for Friday revealed that air transportation employment in August was approximately the same as in July.

This month, Spirit Airlines furloughed 186 pilots, according to their union, due to the airline's losses resulting from a failed acquisition, an engine recall, and an oversupplied U.S. market. Last year, the airline offered staff buyouts even before the merger fell apart.

Other airlines are easing hiring or finding other ways to cut costs.

American Airlines, which halted pilot hiring in May and June due to delayed planes from Boeing, announced it will hire 10,000 people this year, a decrease from 15,000 in both 2022 and 2023. The airline plans to hire 1,600 pilots, a decrease from over 2,300 last year.

Since federal law mandates that U.S. airlines must retire their pilots at age 65, they have been consistently adding new pilots to their teams.

In 2020, airlines let go of tens of thousands of employees despite receiving more than $50 billion in taxpayer aid to prevent layoffs. Many employees took advantage of the airline's buyout and voluntary leave offers.

In recent years, air freight giants were competing fiercely for pilots, but now demand has decreased as companies look to reduce costs.

In a March investor presentation, CEO Robert Isom revealed that American Airlines hired approximately 2,300 pilots in 2020 and plans to recruit around 1,300 pilots in 2021.

He stated at the time that we would continue hiring at those levels in the future.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's flight department chairman, Ken Byrnes, stated that students still fill classrooms and cockpits to gain hours and become pilots, despite lower targets.

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