Delta Air Lines Inc. is upsizing a plan to hire new pilots later this year as the carrier gets a better gauge on future demand needs.
The world’s largest airline is also tinkering with its aircraft mix, planning next year to bring back as many as two dozen aircraft that were parked in California’s Mojave Desert because of recession-driven capacity cuts.
Delta officials are careful to say their plans to add more pilots and shuffle the fleet are not an indication of an expansion of service, as its net total of aircraft is still expected to decrease. But an airline analyst said the moves could give the carrier added flexibility as early signs of recovery for the industry continue.
Atlanta-based Delta (NYSE: DAL) now plans to hire about 300 new pilots, up from the 240 it announced earlier this month, Delta spokeswoman Gina Laughlin confirmed to Atlanta Business Chronicle.
The carrier also confirmed it would return to service next year no more than 25 jets it had been storing in the desert. Just how many planes returned to service, and when, depends on passenger demand, Delta said.
“We continue to manage capacity and take advantage of one of the great benefits of our merger — a diverse and flexible fleet that allows us to use the right aircraft in the right market, whether that’s by day of week, time of day or time of year,” Laughlin said, referring to Delta’s 2008 acquisition of Northwest Airlines Corp.
The past three years have been brutal for the nation’s airlines, which battled historic fuel prices and a precipitous decline in passenger demand with the fallout of Wall Street’s collapse.
The airlines, including Delta, slashed capacity as a result and more than 200 pilots accepted buyouts. But air travel has seen a rebound since bottoming out in May 2009.
On May 4, Delta announced its plan to hire new aviators as it moves to restore some previously cut flight schedules and increases the use of wide-body airliners. The airline is also hiring to replace pilots expected to retire over the next year.
“With this announcement of hiring comes the opportunity for furlough bypass pilots to return to Delta and for other pilots who desire employment with us, the opportunity to join our ranks,” Delta Senior Vice President Steve Dickson said in a May 4 memo to pilots.
The new pilots will come aboard sometime in the fall, and ensure Delta will be fully staffed come summer 2011.
The world’s largest airline is also juggling its fleet. The carrier previously announced it would remove 86 less-efficient jets from service this year. These include a total of 65 regional jets and turboprops, as well as older DC-9s and Boeing 757s.
But Delta confirmed to the Chronicle it would return to service in 2011 no more than 25 aircraft — including an undetermined number of MD-90s, 757s and Boeing 767s — that were parked in the California desert because of recession-driven capacity cuts.
Laughlin said the planes were stored with the intent of returning them to service upon a return in passenger demand.
These changes come on top of previously announced acquisitions of two Boeing 737-800s and seven used MD-90s.
Delta has curtailed capital expenses to conserve cash and has been tight with capacity to keep load factors and yields high.
Capacity remains essentially flat this summer compared to last year.
Robert Mann, airline analyst with R.W. Mann & Co. in New York, said the moves to bring wide-body jets back into service and add more pilots than originally indicated suggests new capacity for the future.
That capacity, he said, could be the restoration of service for some routes that have been cut or reduced, or the restart of routes Delta planned to begin before the economic collapse.
“The bringing back of pilots and aircraft seems to suggest new flying,” Mann said.
Read more: Delta to hire 300 pilots - Atlanta Business Chronicle
The world’s largest airline is also tinkering with its aircraft mix, planning next year to bring back as many as two dozen aircraft that were parked in California’s Mojave Desert because of recession-driven capacity cuts.
Delta officials are careful to say their plans to add more pilots and shuffle the fleet are not an indication of an expansion of service, as its net total of aircraft is still expected to decrease. But an airline analyst said the moves could give the carrier added flexibility as early signs of recovery for the industry continue.
Atlanta-based Delta (NYSE: DAL) now plans to hire about 300 new pilots, up from the 240 it announced earlier this month, Delta spokeswoman Gina Laughlin confirmed to Atlanta Business Chronicle.
The carrier also confirmed it would return to service next year no more than 25 jets it had been storing in the desert. Just how many planes returned to service, and when, depends on passenger demand, Delta said.
“We continue to manage capacity and take advantage of one of the great benefits of our merger — a diverse and flexible fleet that allows us to use the right aircraft in the right market, whether that’s by day of week, time of day or time of year,” Laughlin said, referring to Delta’s 2008 acquisition of Northwest Airlines Corp.
The past three years have been brutal for the nation’s airlines, which battled historic fuel prices and a precipitous decline in passenger demand with the fallout of Wall Street’s collapse.
The airlines, including Delta, slashed capacity as a result and more than 200 pilots accepted buyouts. But air travel has seen a rebound since bottoming out in May 2009.
On May 4, Delta announced its plan to hire new aviators as it moves to restore some previously cut flight schedules and increases the use of wide-body airliners. The airline is also hiring to replace pilots expected to retire over the next year.
“With this announcement of hiring comes the opportunity for furlough bypass pilots to return to Delta and for other pilots who desire employment with us, the opportunity to join our ranks,” Delta Senior Vice President Steve Dickson said in a May 4 memo to pilots.
The new pilots will come aboard sometime in the fall, and ensure Delta will be fully staffed come summer 2011.
The world’s largest airline is also juggling its fleet. The carrier previously announced it would remove 86 less-efficient jets from service this year. These include a total of 65 regional jets and turboprops, as well as older DC-9s and Boeing 757s.
But Delta confirmed to the Chronicle it would return to service in 2011 no more than 25 aircraft — including an undetermined number of MD-90s, 757s and Boeing 767s — that were parked in the California desert because of recession-driven capacity cuts.
Laughlin said the planes were stored with the intent of returning them to service upon a return in passenger demand.
These changes come on top of previously announced acquisitions of two Boeing 737-800s and seven used MD-90s.
Delta has curtailed capital expenses to conserve cash and has been tight with capacity to keep load factors and yields high.
Capacity remains essentially flat this summer compared to last year.
Robert Mann, airline analyst with R.W. Mann & Co. in New York, said the moves to bring wide-body jets back into service and add more pilots than originally indicated suggests new capacity for the future.
That capacity, he said, could be the restoration of service for some routes that have been cut or reduced, or the restart of routes Delta planned to begin before the economic collapse.
“The bringing back of pilots and aircraft seems to suggest new flying,” Mann said.
Read more: Delta to hire 300 pilots - Atlanta Business Chronicle
