United Air to restart pilot hiring in new sign of travel rebound
The Peninsula
United Airlines Holdings Inc. will resume pilot hiring as the carrier sees signs of a sales recovery amid expanding U.S. vaccination campaigns.
The carrier will begin with 300 pilots who received a conditional job offer last year or had a new-hire class that was canceled, Bryan Quigley, senior vice president of flight operations, told employees Thursday. The decision followed a year in which airlines slashed payrolls through retirement and voluntary leave offers while depending on billions of dollars in federal payroll aid. The need for new pilots stems from "vaccination rates increasing and travel demand trending upwards,” Quigley said in a memo. Whether United continues adding pilots will depend on further recovery from the collapse in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic.More Related News