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The hiring spree at airlines continues, especially at American Airlines. According to a US DoT report issued Tuesday, US carriers employed 3.7% more workers, for 416,337 full-time employees by the end of 2016 compared to the year before. The agency said it was the highest monthly total for the industry since March 2008. American added over 2,200 new full-time jobs last year, increasing its workforce to 99,508 employees. Since 2012, the carrier has grown its workforce by 10.7%, almost 10,000 new workers, if you include employment numbers from US Airways which merged with American in 2013. Southwest Airlines added almost 4,000 employees in 2016, increasing its workforce by 8% to 53,536 full-time workers. In the past 5 years, Southwest grew its workforce by 16.7%, the DoT says. <br/>

American Airlines just found a way to streamline the boarding process — or needlessly complicate it, depending on whom you ask. “March 1, we’re launching a new, simplified boarding process,” the company said Wednesday. The company is no longer announcing the members of its first 4 groups by name, and is instead listing them from 1 through 9, adding a new class of “basic economy,” which will board last. This high number of boarding groups makes the process anything but simple, said a consumer travel advocate. “This is a case study in corporate double-speak” he said. “American has created at least 8 distinct groups of passengers, from the have-nots to the have-it-alls. This kind of stratification…has absolutely no place in the 21st century.” American Airlines disagrees that it overcomplicates things. <br/>