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Delta Air Lines reduces pilot hiring due to industry slowdown

By Nithya Bose in US business news, posted January 1, 2024

Delta Air Lines is scaling back its pilot hiring plans for the upcoming year, a shift from the robust recruitment pace witnessed over the past two years.

Like many others, the airline faced an unprecedented surge in pilot demand as global travel rebounded following the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2023 alone, major carriers, driven by the rapid recovery in travel, hired over 13,000 pilots.

A similar trajectory was expected for the current year, as reported by pilot career advisory firm FAPA.aero.

However, in a recent communication to pilots, Delta revealed its intention to hire approximately 1,100 pilots next year.

This represents a significant reduction compared to the more than double number hired in 2022 and 2023 through November.

Delta wrote in a memo: “Remember that any other year, hiring 1,100 pilots would be considered an incredibly high number.”

During the pandemic, the aviation industry saw an accelerated retirement of workers, including pilots.

It led to a subsequent rush to replace them and restore pre-pandemic levels of flight operations.

Delta maintains that its hiring projections signal ongoing healthy and robust pilot demand.

“What we anticipate for the coming year is a very strong, yet more normalized, growth pattern” after two years of robust hiring, Delta said.

While Delta says travel appetite remains steady, industry-wide growth gradually slows down after prolonged rapid expansion.

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This slowdown could alleviate the fierce competition among carriers for pilot recruitment.

It could end the shortage that grounded some planes and left certain cities without air service.

Other major airlines have not disclosed specific hiring plans for the upcoming year.

Analysts suggest that the most acute phase of the pilot shortage may be subsiding as carriers catch up with their recruitment needs.

According to analysts from Deutsche Bank, higher pay rates attracting newcomers to the profession, moderation in hiring rates by major airlines, and surplus aviator supply in specific market segments contribute to this evolving landscape.

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Budget carrier Spirit Airlines has already taken steps to slow growth, suspending new-hire pilot training for the following year.

Cargo airlines, facing a decline in parcel volumes, have also experienced a reduced need for new pilots.

These developments would relieve pressure on regional airlines, disproportionately affected by the industrywide pilot shortage, as larger carriers have consistently recruited from their ranks.

Responding to the shortage, regional airlines have increased pay and offered bonuses to attract experienced captains from competitors.

They seek to address the challenges posed by a lack of captains paired with first officers for flight operations.

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