United Airlines on Thursday told staff it will soon begin hiring 300 pilots, the latest sign that the travel industry is recovering from the pandemic.
In a memo to pilots, United said it would start by hiring the pilots who either had a conditional job offer last year or whose start dates had been cancelled because of the pandemic.
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“I’m excited to share that United will resume the pilot hiring process that was halted last year,” United Airlines Senior Vice President of Flight Operations, Bryan Quigley’s email read.
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“With vaccination rates increasing and travel demand trending upward, I’m excited to share that United will resume the pilot hiring process. We’ll start with the approximately 300 pilots who either had a new hire class date that was canceled or who had a 2020 conditional job offer.”
The news comes as US airlines begin making changes to their Covid-19 policies to adapt to the increase in travel demand.
On Wednesday, Delta Air Lines said it would start selling middle seats for the first time in a year.
TSA (Transportation Security Administration) checkpoint travel numbers show more than 1 million US passengers travelled on each of the last 22 days – a stark difference to 2020 figures.
“We can see that light at the end of the tunnel,” Scott Kirby, United’s chief executive said.
