Delta targets hiring of 1,000 pilots by next summer

Delta Air Lines is reportedly looking to recruit more than 1,000 pilots by next summer. This information was said to have been shared through a company memo that was posted on Monday, June 21.

As per Reuters that was able to see the memo, Delta Air Lines is planning to add more pilots to its workforce. The American air carrier will also hire more staff as the demand for travel has been slowly increasing since the government started easing some COVID-19-related protocols.

The travel surge in recent weeks

In fact, it is not just Delta Air Lines that is opening a job recruitment event in an effort to fill in hundreds of vacancies in their airlines. Other carriers in the U.S., such as American Airlines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines, are also aiming to hire more employees in addition to some returning staff who have been on voluntary leave since the COVID-19 pandemic struck last year and ultimately paralyzed the travel business.

As more and more people are receiving their vaccines these days, leisure travel is surging again. With this, Delta Air Lines is expecting the volume of bookings for travel this month to be at the pre-pandemic levels.

The airline’s chief of operations, John Laughter, also wrote in the memo for company employees that travel for business is also returning to almost normal so they really need to fill out vacancies and expand the number of their pilots and crew.

Last weekend, the United States recorded a total of 2.1 million air travelers, which is the highest record since March 2020, when COVID-19 was just starting. This is a big number but still 23% lower compared to the pre-pandemic levels.

Delta announces hiring as travel demand returns

In April, Delta Air Lines mentioned that it would resume hiring by the middle of this year, and true enough, as bookings start to pick up again in recent months, the recruitment has been announced this month.

“This is exciting news both for the pilots looking to join Delta and those of you already on the seniority list because it means career progression opportunities as we continue our recovery, account for scheduled pilot retirements and position for network expansion,” Delta Air's chief of operations, John Laughter, said in a memo for employees and viewed by CNBC.

Finally, Delta Air Lines is planning to continue its recovery efforts and prevent staffing problems in the future, it is launching job hiring events now.