US airlines have been struggling with a shortage of trained crew, from pilots to ground ops. But there is some good news. The US Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics just released its April 2022 employment data, and 4,752 jobs were added by both cargo and passenger airlines.
These jobs are for pilots, flight attendants, administrative, and maintenance personnel. The figures represent a 13.9% growth from April 2021 in hiring for all passenger airlines.
It’s also worth noting that network airlines like Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and United Airlines represent 61.8 % of all airline employment versus 22.9 % from low-cost airlines like Southwest and Spirit. Regional and other airlines are the balance.
Recovering but not a full recovery yet from COVID-19
The airlines are still recovering from COVID-19 imposed lockdowns, furloughs and such.
Photo: Joe Kunzler | Simple Flying
Although moving in the right direction, these hiring numbers are not representative of a full recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Until vaccines were available for the general US population in April 2021, lockdowns were necessary to protect our fellow humans.
Simple Flying asked back in early 2020 if masks would be part of amenity kits, American Airlines implemented social distancing, and United Airlines slashed capacity and jobs by 50%. Although commercial aviation has come a long way from the dark days of spring 2020, the April 2022 hiring number of 275,539 is still less than the April 2019 high of 287,095.
Top Ten airlines by employment
Below is a table from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics as to which airlines are in the top ten for April 2022 by employment:
Rank | Airline | Total FTE Employees | Carrier Group |
1 | American | 95,762 | Network |
2 | Delta | 86,257 | Network |
3 | United | 76,226 | Network |
4 | Southwest | 60,311 | Low-cost |
5 | JetBlue | 20,102 | Low-cost |
6 | Alaska | 17,294 | Network |
7 | SkyWest | 13,614 | Regional |
8 | Envoy | 13,500 | Regional |
9 | Spirit | 10,490 | Low-cost |
10 | Piedmont | 7,022 | Regional |
Alaska Airlines has been busy hiring too
Alaska Airlines is doing incredibly well in hiring, as evidenced by this May 2022 photo.
Photo: Joe Kunzler | Simple Flying