Year to date, airlines added 2,151 pilots, with 1,038 in February alone, compared to an increase of 393 pilots from this time last year. AIR, Inc. forecasts approximately 10,650 new airline pilot jobs for 2008. The number of pilots currently furloughed continues to drop from 6,410 in February of '07 to 2,491 in February of this year. American Eagle, ASA and Republic will be the top recruiters this year amongst the nationals with hiring projections at 700, 500 and 600, respectively. CommutAir expects to hire 60 as it expands its Continental Express operations out of Cleveland and Great Lakes expects to hire 240 as it takes over more and more Essential Air Service routes. Mainline hiring will also continue with Continental hiring 350, JetBlue 380, and US Airways 325.
Commercial pilots are projected to increase from 115,127 in 2007 to 126,150 in 2025, an average annual increase of 0.5 percent. The number of student pilots is forecast to increase at an average annual rate of 1.0 percent over the forecast period, growing from 84,339 in 2007 to 100,200 in 2025. In addition, FAA is projecting that 20,600 new sport pilots will be certified during the forecast period.
Air Inc reiterated warnings from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) that the world's airlines will suffer from a severe pilot shortage unless industry and government work together to change training and qualification practices. IATA issued a new estimate that global airlines may need 17,000 new pilots annually to cover expected industry growth and retirements. Increasing the retirement age to 65 will help but that provides only a short-term boost. Related Story