Press Release

7/16/04
U.S. Airlines are beginning to hire more pilots.

U.S. Airlines are beginning to hire more pilots. At least that's the latest indication according to statistics compiled by AIR, Inc., a company that regularly tracks pilot hiring trends among U.S. airlines.

The company recently released information that suggests that U.S. airlines hired more pilots in February than in any other month since September 2001. According to airlines polled by AIR, Inc., 743 pilots were hired in February. Of the 187 airlines that report to AIR, Inc., 155 say that they are actively recruiting pilots. Carriers included in the survey forcast hiring a total of 4,300 pilots in 2004 with even larger numbers of pilots hired in the years to come.

The numbers indicate an overall positive trend for the industry, which has suffered through a difficult economic period. Although pilot hiring decreased after Sept. 11, 2001, hiring has been rising steadily since July 2003.