FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2008
Contact: Kit Darby, ext. 103
Corey Mobley, ext. 170

Airline Pilot Hiring
February 2008 Summary

Airlines added an additional 1,038 pilots in February, bringing the year-to-date total 2,151 – an increase of 393 pilots from this time last year. Airlines forecasting the most new hires for 2008 include (top three in each category) Majors: Continental 350, JetBlue 380, US Airways 325; Nationals: American Eagle 700, ASA 500, Republic 600; Jet Operators: No airlines reporting total hiring numbers for the year; Non-Jet: CommutAir 60, Flight Express 120, Great Lakes Aviation 240; Fractionals: Avantair 192, FlexJet 100, NetJets 320; and Foreign: Cathay Pacific 150, and Emirates Group 400. 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.

The U.S. and Australia signed an open-skies agreement on February 14, which will lift all restrictions on flights between the two countries. The deal was reached after three days of talks in Washington. It allows airlines to select routes and allocate capacity strictly by consumer demand. It also provides opportunities for code-sharing and marketing agreements between U.S. and Australian carriers.

The General Aviation Manufactures Association (GAMA) released its annual aircraft delivery statistics for last year. The aviation industry received 4,272 aircraft in 2007 with business jets accounting for a record 28.4 percent increase over last year’s totals, or 1,186 jets.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned that the world’s airlines will suffer from a severe pilot shortage unless industry and government work together to change training and qualification practices. The IATA issued a new estimate that global airlines may need 17,000 new pilots annually due to expected industry growth and retirements. Increasing the retirement age to 65 will help but it can’t be the only solution.

The next AIR, Inc. Job Fair will be held in Los Angeles, CA, on March 29. Airlines already scheduled to attend include: Majors: ASTAR Air Cargo; Nationals: AirNet, American Eagle, Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Kalitta Air, Mesa, Mesaba, Spirit Air; Jet Operators/Non-jet Operators: Kalitta Charters; Foreign Operators/Crew Leasing: Cathay Pacific, Crew Resources Worldwide, Paramount Aviation, Parc Aviation. Others: Eagle Jet, Freight Dog Financial Advisors, Gulfstream Flight Academy, New Air, Simulation Standards. For information on all current and future seminars visit our Web site at www.jet-jobs.com, or call 800 JET-JOBS (538-5627).

Source: AIR, Inc. • Atlanta, GA • www.jet-jobs.com • 800-JET-JOBS

FURLOUGHS AS OF March 11, 2008
Airline Number of
Pilot Furloughs		 Total Pilots Percentage of Pilots Furloughed
Majors
Airborne Express 0 730 N/A
AirTran Airways 0 1,320 N/A
Alaska Airlines 0 859 N/A
American Airlines 2,129 9,139 23.3%
ASTAR Air Cargo 0 550 N/A
Continental Airlines 0 4,650 N/A
Delta Air Lines 0 5,930 N/A
FedEx 0 4,800 N/A
Frontier Airlines 0 630 N/A
JetBlue 0 1,592 N/A
Northwest Airlines 0 5,050 N/A
Southwest Airlines 0 4,923 N/A
United Airlines 0 6,358 N/A
United Parcel Service 0 2,814 N/A
US Airways 0 5,048 N/A
TOTAL 2,129 54,393 3.9%
Airline Number of Pilot Furloughs Total Pilots Percentage of Pilots Furloughed
Nationals
Air Transport International 0 275 N/A
Air Wisconsin 0 882 N/A
AirNet Express 0 255 N/A
Aloha Airlines 0 270 .75%
American Eagle 0 3,159 N/A
ATA Airlines 282 769 36.7%
Atlantic Southeast 0 1,800 N/A
Atlas Air 0 694 N/A
Champion Air 0 134 N/A
Comair 0 1,700 N/A
Evergreen Int’l Airlines 0 230 N/A
ExpresssJet 0 2,750 N/A
Florida West Int'l Airways 0 12 N/A
Gemini Air Cargo 0 178 N/A
Hawaiian Airlines 6 290 2.1%
Horizon Air 0 719 N/A
Kalitta Air 0 293 N/A
Mesa Airlines 0 1,889 N/A
Mesaba Airlines 0 804 N/A
Miami Air Int'l 0 89 N/A
Midwest Express Airlines 0 366 N/A
Omni Air Int'l 0 150 N/A
Piedmont Airlines 0 550 N/A
Pinnacle Airlines 0 1,200 N/A
Polar Air Cargo 0 260 N/A
Republic Airways 0 1,521 N/A
Ryan Int'l Airlines 0 195 N/A
SkyWest Airlines 0 2,191 N/A
Spirit Airlines 0 401 N/A
Sun Country Airlines 0 128 N/A
Trans States Airlines 0 550 N/A
USA 3000 0 152 N/A
US Airways/Piedmont 0 470 N/A
US Airways/PSA 0 613 N/A
World Airways 0 430 N/A
TOTAL 288 26,369 1.1%
Total Jet Operators 74 2,840 2.6%
Total Non-Jet Operators 0 3,039 N/A
Total Fractionals 0 4,293 N/A
Total Crew Leasing/Foreign/Training 0 Not Available N/A
Total Upstarts 0 36 N/A
AIRLINE TOTAL 2,491 90,970 2.7%
Notes:
  • TBD = To be determined

www.jet-jobs.com
800 JET-JOBS (538-5627)

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