United Airlines is predicting a very busy summer travel season and has geared up with an extensive hiring plan. This year the airline is expecting a busy travel season due to which it is planning to hire thousands of workers as a measure for preparation. The airline informed that during the first four months of the year, it hired 7000 new workers as it is planning to aim 15000 new hires by the year end. The news comes as some relief as other sectors across the globe are cutting employment due to the fear of recession.
United Airlines started off the year with 93,000 workers and added that it is planning to add 50,000 by 2026. Kate Gebo, the executive vice president of human resources the company while talking to the reporters said that they are in hiring mode. The airline also said that it already has ample pilots who could help to manage the summer schedule. United Airline had felt the jolt when air travel demand had bounced back faster that it has expected post the pandemic period. This was when the carrier was severely understaffed and faced a lot of difficulties.
There were shortage of pilots and flight attendants that led to hundreds of cancelled and delayed flights in 2022. There has been a significant increase in the airline-industry jobs by more than 117,000 which marks an increase of 32 percent towards more than 480,000 as of February 2023. This marked a 5 percent increase ever since the pre-pandemic peak. On the other hand Delta Airlines has not disclosed in hiring plans in 2023. However, Ed Bastian, the CEO of the airline has informed that they have hired about 20,000 workers since the beginning of 2021.
Meanwhile Southwest Airlines has also planned to hire 7,000 workers in 2023. But the airline said that it will soon be reducing the number as they have not yet received the new Boeing jets. Executives from the United have said that they are planning to hire 2,300 pilots in 2023 and are expecting nearly 500 to retire.
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