Troubled American Airlines says it intends to hire 2,500 pilots

NEW YORK, N.Y. – American Airlines says it intends to hire 2,500 pilots over the next five years.

NEW YORK, N.Y. – American Airlines says it intends to hire 2,500 pilots over the next five years.

The airline’s parent AMR filed for bankruptcy protection in November, and has been locked in a contentious battle with its pilots union over its efforts to cut labor costs.

In a letter to employees Wednesday, CEO Tom Horton said American Airlines will hire new pilots to staff new international and domestic routes. Company spokesman Bruce Hicks said about 1,500 of the new hires would replace retiring pilots, or jobs that open up due to attrition. American has about 7,500 active pilots today.

“The new American will be doing even more international flying, providing greater opportunities for career advancement and increased income for our people,” Horton said in the letter.

The airline unveiled plans Wednesday to add new flights from Dallas/Fort Worth to Seoul, South Korea and Lima, Peru; from Chicago to Dusseldorf, Germany; and from JFK airport in New York to Dublin, Ireland. It also said it would increase domestic service from its hubs in Chicago and Dallas.

Tom Hoban, spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, said the union is skeptical about Horton’s statement.

“We once had over 13,000 pilots,” he said. “It’s been the incredible shrinking airline … unless they ink it in the contract, it doesn’t have a lot of credibility with the pilots.”

American had previously announced it would hire about 1,500 flight attendants starting later this year to replace the 2,200 flight attendants who took a $40,000 buyout package.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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