And That's Only Through October!

Airline pilot hiring has more than doubled from 2003 - from 3,978 in 2003 to 8,209 in 2004, and we still have two months remaining in this year. Hiring for the month of October last year was 452 compared to 687 this year. The National carriers have had the highest hiring volume for the past three months, leading with 339 pilots in October, followed by the Non-Jet operators with 113, and the Majors finished third with 94.

Bad news for ATA sparked good news for AirTran this month. ATA filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection October 26, with AirTran Airways picking up some of their most lucrative gates. AirTran will take over 14 gates at Chicago Midway, 19 slots at LaGuardia, and eight slots at Washington Reagan. The tentative agreement is valued at approximately $87.5 million. ATA CEO George Mikelson said the transition will occur over a one-year period with AirTran operating the gates/slots through a code share agreement in the interim. The transaction is subject to bankruptcy court approval.

Pilots unions at US Airways and Delta Air Lines came to agreements. US Airways pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, agreed to an 18 percent cut in wages for an annual savings of $300 million during the five-year contract. US Airways also announced its plans to transform its hub-and-spoke system to the more lucrative status of low-cost carrier effective February 6.

"By changing our core business model, US Airways will be better positioned to successfully compete in an aggressive competitive environment where declines in yields, growth of other low-cost carriers, and record high fuel prices are expected," said Ben Baldanza, US Airways' Senior VP of Marketing and Planning. US Airways plans to increase capacity by adding 230 daily flights without adding new aircraft. Airline executives say they'll accomplish this by increasing utilization and by flying bigger planes in place of regional jets and regional jets in place of turboprop aircraft. Delta (DAL) pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, reached a tentative contract October 27 worth $705 million. The five-year contract, cuts wages by 32.5 percent wage effective December 1, with no planned increase during the five-year agreement. DAL will also freeze the pilots' defined benefit retirement plan and give them a new 10% defined contribution plan. Pilots will also receive about 30 million shares of Delta common stock, representing a 15% equity stake in the company.

AIR, Inc.'s Airline Pilot Job Fair and Seminar is scheduled for November 13 at the Renaissance Concourse Hotel in Atlanta (GA). FedEx, AirTran, America West, American Eagle, AirNet, ASA, Cape Air, Comair, Gulfstream, Mesa Airlines, NetJets, Tab Express, US Airways Express/Piedmont Airlines, and USA Jet are all attending in addition to a hosts of industry-related vendors.

(ANN sends special thanks -- as always -- to Kit Darby, President & Publisher, Jet Jobs)

FMI: www.jet-jobs.com