Delta Air Lines expects its pilot hiring to return to normal in 2025.
Expecting a better 2025
After a post-pandemic boom and increase in demand for pilots, in 2024, many airlines slowed down their hiring. On January 1, Simple Flying reported that 
Delta Air Lines
was cutting its hiring by about half compared to 2023. Spirit Airlines suspended hiring earlier this year and even furloughed some pilots. And the list goes on.
Photo: American Airlines
According to a report from Airline Geeks, Delta believes that pilot hiring will return to normal levels in 2025. During its third-quarter earnings call last week, airline leadership shared it expects hiring in 2025 to hit nearly 5,000 pilots. According to Future and Active Pilot Advisors (FAPA) data, in 2019, American carriers hit nearly 5,000 hires.
Delta President Glen Hauenstein said,
“As you know, pilot constraints as the majors were hiring early in the recovery period put a lot of strain on availability of pilot crews for the regional carriers and we’ve been working very closely with them.”
Delta’s pilot hiring in 2024
According to data from FAPA, Delta hired 870 pilots through August. This puts the airline just short of its forecast in January, when it shared it would hire about 1,000 pilots. At the time, the airline said,
“Delta’s 2024 hiring projections are representative of a continued healthy and robust demand for pilots. What we anticipate for the coming year is a very strong, yet more normalized, growth pattern that is reflective of Delta’s full operational restoration post-pandemic and continued focus on industry leadership.”
Despite lower numbers in 2024, Delta’s hiring is still significantly higher than what it was pre-pandemic. Data from FAPA shows that in 2019, Delta hired just 492 pilots. In 2021, that number rose by about 50%, even though the airline hired no pilots through the first five months of the year.
Photo: American Airlines
2022 and 2023 were massive years for Delta and other airlines across the industry in the United States. In 2022, Delta hired 2,392 pilots, and was only beat by United Airlines. The Atlanta-based carrier’s strongest month in 2022 saw 214 pilots hired.
In 2023, Delta hired 2,424 pilots. Of the nearly 2,500 pilots, 302 were hired in January. Last year, no airline hired more pilots than Delta.
Suspension of hiring in 2024 (current data available through August)
Seven US airlines have suspended pilot hiring at some point in 2024. Alaska Airlines started early this year, hiring ten pilots in January and eight in February. Since March, the airline has not hired a single pilot.
American Airlines temporarily suspended hiring in March but picked up in April. From June through August, the airline did not hire anyone. American’s year-to-date total is 749 pilots.
Frontier did not hire any pilots in February but hired 139 from March through June and then suspended hiring again. JetBlue has not hired any pilots since May, and its total for 2024 is 122.
Photo: Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines hired more than 260 pilots in the first three months of the year and then took its foot off the gas. From April through June, the Texas-based carrier did not hire any pilots. In August, 22 were added to its roster before another suspension.
Spirit Airlines has not hired any pilots this year and even furloughed some recently. Finally, United Airlines suspended hiring in May and June, but has hired more pilots than any other US carrier. In 2024, United has hired 1,028 pilots.