Pilot Jobs Outlook for 2011

Airlines are in a state of flux and changes are being made every day. There has been a surge in foreign airline pilot positions within the Asian market. Most of the larger Asian airlines are advertising for airline pilots. In checking the internet sites such as Pilotjobs.com, one will find good news in the area of hiring. The following is a listing taken from the site and indicates a strong move on the part of the airlines: • American Eagle – hired 200 pilots in 2010 and announced that they will hire over 400 pilots in 2011 • Atlantic Southeast Airlines – interviewing and hiring pilots. • Air Wisconsin – interviewing and hiring pilots, plans to hire 16 FOs and upgrade 8 captains per month through June 2011. • Colgan Airlines – interviewing and hiring pilots, hired 150 pilots in 2010, FOs are being hired into the Q400. • CommutAir – interviewing and hiring pilots. New Minimums are 900tt/100me. • Compass Airlines – interviewing pilots and hiring into a pool for 2011 start. • Great Lakes – interviewing and hiring pilots. • ExpressJet Airlines – recalled all furloughed pilots, announced that they will hire 96 pilots beginning January 2011. • Pinnacle Airlines – interviewing and hiring Pilots. • Republic Airways – interviewing and hiring pilots--- 100 Pilots this year. • SkyWest Airlines – interviewing and hiring pilots for First Officer positions. • Delta Airlines – recalled all furloughed pilots--- interviewing and hiring. Intends to hire 240 pilots Discount carriers are also looking positive for airline pilot jobs. Airlines such as Southwest, JetBlue, Alaska, and Midwest have all listed pilot jobs within the past year. The discount carriers are making progress in the area of pay, but generally they will still pay less than the legacy carriers. As mentioned above, there are jobs available in the regional carrier market. Comair, American Eagle, and Republic are three carriers looking for regional airline pilots. The downside to regional flying is the fact that the entry level pay is typically low, but the opportunity to build hours and upgrade quickly is there. Corporate pilot jobs are also available but it will take leg work to find the companies who are seeking corporate pilots. Another source of flying jobs may be the charter carriers. In the past this has been a good source for newly minted pilots. Most charter carriers advertise their contract pilot job opportunities on their web site and many find contract pilots on FindAPilot.com.