By Tracy Rucinski
(Reuters) – American Airlines’ wholly-owned regional subsidiary PSA Airlines plans to resume new pilot hiring this year, according to a memo seen by Reuters, a positive sign for an industry that was ravaged last year by the coronavirus pandemic.
After years of heavy recruitment to address potential pilot shortages in an industry that was growing before the pandemic, PSA and other airlines were forced to freeze new hiring last year and furlough thousands of employees.
“As we continue to work with American Airlines to identify our flying needs this year, and in combination with recent attrition numbers for our Pilot group, we will be initiating hiring efforts for First Officer team members,” Keith Stamper, vice president of PSA’s air operations, said in a Jan. 15 memo.
A PSA spokeswoman confirmed the plans, which also include new flight attendant hiring, but said: “We are declining disclosing specific hiring numbers at this time.”
Dayton, Ohio-based PSA, which operates domestic routes for American, furloughed 723 pilots and 323 flight attendants last October when an initial COVID-19 relief plan for U.S. airlines expired. Employees were recalled last month following a fresh $15 billion in government aid for the struggling industry.
American Airlines said on Tuesday the company and its three subsidiaries, including PSA, had already received half of the total $3.087 billion in aid allotted to American under the government program, which covers employee salaries and protects jobs through March.
Major airlines like American rely on regional carriers, which have a cheaper workforce, to operate a large share of their domestic networks. Over time, pilots at regional carriers work their way up to higher-paying jobs at the majors.
(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski, Editing by Franklin Paul and Mark Potter)
