Number Crunch

The Air Travel Industry is Preparing for Liftoff

Airlines are going on a buying and hiring spree as customers return to the skies

$30 billion: The estimated cost of the 270 airplanes United Airlines is buying in preparation for the return of air travel, according to Reuters. The order is the largest in the company’s history.

The airlines are betting that the great pandemic staycation is over. Many have begun investing heavily in anticipation of consumers once again taking to the skies. United Airlines announced an order of 200 Boeing 737 MAX jets and 70 Airbus SE A321neos in a deal costing over $30 billion (before discounts). The move is part of the company’s plan to invest in over 500 new planes, many of which will replace their current roster and help increase the overall passenger capacity on domestic flights by 30%. Other airlines have already begun increasing the size of their fleets, with rival Southwest agreeing to buy 100 737 MAX jets from Boeing in March of this year.

While flight numbers haven’t reached pre-pandemic numbers yet, they are on the rise, and the airlines are feeling bullish that a travel boom is impending. Some 2 million passengers passed through TSA checkpoints in late June, compared to around 625,000 in 2020 (and 2.5 million from 2019).

Airlines are on a hiring spree, too. United Airlines had cut over 22,000 staff during the pandemic, but it now plans to fill over 25,000 jobs by 2026, hiring pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, gate agents and other staff needed to handle the new craft and the expected increase in passengers. Two of the other largest US carriers, American and Delta, have also announced they are currently hiring or will do so before the end of the year. The number of flight attendant jobs is expected to rise from 80,000 today to 100,000 within two years.

A year or so ago, most airlines were grounded, with the number of passenger jets in service reportedly the lowest it had been in 26 years. Several airlines were forced to sell off planes and furlough thousands of staff. Many didn’t survive, including the notable loss of Virgin Atlantic and Flybe. It was one of the darkest periods in airline history. But as restrictions lift, and the population continues to be vaccinated, airlines are hopeful once more.

The clouds are clearing, and the air travel industry is standing by for takeoff.