Airlines expecting a hectic summer travel season are planning to hire thousands of new workers this year, lifting a job market that has been hit by layoffs in technology and turmoil in the banking industry. United Airlines said Wednesday that it hired 7,000 new workers in the first four months of this year and plans to hit 15,000 new hires by year-end, matching the number it hired last year. By 2026, United projects adding 50,000 workers to a workforce that was about 93,000 at the start of this year. “We are in hiring mode here at United Airlines,” Kate Gebo, the company’s executive vice president of human resources, told reporters. Airline officials said they already have enough pilots to operate the peak summer schedule. Airlines have been in a hiring frenzy since being caught understaffed when air travel bounced back from the depths of the pandemic more quickly than anticipated. Shortages of pilots and flight attendants contributed to a jump in the rates of canceled and delayed flights last year. The nation’s passenger airlines received $54b in taxpayer money to keep people on the payroll through the pandemic, and they were prohibited from making layoffs, but they got around that prohibition by paying workers to quit or take early retirement. Since bottoming out in November 2020, airline-industry jobs have jumped by more than 117,000 — an increase of 32% — to more than 480,00 as of this February, the latest figures available from the Transportation Department. That is a 5% increase over the pre-pandemic peak. Some of the new hires at United will replace retiring employees. United executives said they plan to hire 2,300 pilots this year and expect nearly 500 to retire, after first giving a lower range of 250 to 300 retirements. Federal law requires airline pilots to retire by age 65.<br/>
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Experts say a new partnership between Bell and Air Canada offering Aeroplan members free Wi-Fi messaging on flights will help strengthen the rewards program's brand after being largely grounded during the pandemic. The telecommunications giant will sponsor inflight Wi-Fi services across the airline's fleet, including Air Canada Rouge and Air Canada Express planes, starting May 15. All Aeroplan members travelling worldwide on Wi-Fi-equipped airplanes will be able to send and receive messages on apps such as Apple's iMessage, Meta's WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, Rakuten's Viber and Messages by Google over Wi-Fi. Access will be available on any Wi-Fi capable device, no matter the passenger's mobile carrier, Bell confirmed. The service will also be available to strategic partner airline loyalty members, including customers of United MileagePlus, Lufthansa Group Miles & More and Emirates Skywards, when their account numbers are associated with an Air Canada booking. "This could mark the beginning of making Aeroplan a stand-alone brand, which it really hasn't been," said Joanne McNeish, a marketing management professor at Toronto Metropolitan University. "Air Canada is using this partnership and announcement to begin to promote this brand and perhaps give it some strings because it doesn't seem to have any right now." The companies said the deal will mean additional benefits for Aeroplan customers. That includes offering new promotional rewards and expanding Air Canada's Live TV service on flights to the US, starting later this summer. "We're so proud to join with an iconic brand to deliver real value to customers across the country, and, importantly, to those new to our country," said Air Canada executive vice-president and president of Aeroplan Mark Nasr in a news release.<br/>
Lufthansa said it expected strong demand for holiday travel this summer to fill seats on its planes and help it reach its full-year targets. "The continuously strong demand gives us confidence for the coming months," finance chief Remco Steenbergen said on Wednesday. Lufthansa said it still expects to post a significant year-on-year improvement in adjusted EBIT for the full year 2023. For Q1, it posted an adjusted EBIT loss of E273m, improved from a E577m loss in the year-earlier period and broadly in line with analyst consensus for 279m. Revenues jumped 40% to E7.02b in the three months through March, though the figure fell short of consensus for E7.57b.<br/>
Deutsche Lufthansa said a third of its Airbus A220 fleet in Zurich has been temporarily grounded because of issues with Pratt & Whitney engines, the latest sign of airlines wrestling with defects ahead of the crucial summer travel season. The idling of the narrow-body aircraft is on top of three other “brand new” aircraft with Pratt engines that are also down, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said on call with analysts to discuss earnings. “Way down in their supply chains there are elements missing and companies need to rebuild their production facilities,” Spohr said. Lufthansa operates 30 A220s at its Swiss subsidiary, implying about 10 aircraft are grounded at present. The company is considering ordering significantly more of the model as it renews its regional jet fleet, Bloomberg News has reported. Carriers around the world are dealing with a shortage of engines and spare parts, particularly on their latest-generation workhorse narrowbody jets. <br/>
US asset manager Apollo Global Management plans to apply for approval from Swedish and Danish regulators to take a majority stake in SAS as part of the Scandinavian airline's rescue plan, a source familiar with the matter said. The news of interest from the U.S. asset manager sent the embattled carrier's shares up as much as 14% in Wednesday morning trading. At 1011 GMT, they were up 5.9%. SAS has lost almost 60% of its value since it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last July, seeking to slash costs and debt after wage talks with pilots collapsed. A deal with the US private equity giant, which has also invested in US and Mexican airlines, would be a test of European Union rules, which prevent more than 50% of an airline being held outside the bloc of 27 members. Given a large part of Apollo's capital originates from Europe-based investors, the fund is hoping to get approval for a deal, according to the source, who declined to be identified because the matter is confidential. No final decision has yet been made on a possible investment, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The first source said a deal could be done before the year-end. Apollo and SAS declined to comment. Apollo will mainly work with aviation regulators in Sweden and Denmark to secure approval, the first source said. The European Commission would also be involved, but the national regulators would be responsible for giving the go-ahead for a change of ownership. The move comes as the airline looks for large investors and seeks to raise equity as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan.<br/>
Turkish Airlines extended its post-pandemic run of net profits for a seventh consecutive quarter, despite the period being marred by the devastating earthquakes centred in Kahramanmaras. The Star Alliance carrier, which was among the first airlines to return to the black after Covid, posted a net profit of $233m for the first three months of 2023. That marked an increase on the $161m it made in Q1 last year.The profit was achieved on revenue of almost $4.4b, up 43% on the last year. That included $3.6b in passenger revenue, driven by a 34% increase in passenger numbers to just over 17m. That is just ahead of the 16.7m Turkish Airlines carried in Q1 2019 before the pandemic. The airline increased operating profits by $60m to $241m in Q1. Turkish Airlines recently outlined aims to double passenger numbers to 170m and its fleet to more than 800 aircraft by 2033, under a newly unveiled strategic plan which will essentially double the size of the airline over the coming 10 years.<br/>
Air India and Vistara have entered an interline partnership, bringing the two Tata Group carriers closer together pending their merger. The interline agreement enables passengers to travel between the two airline’s network, according to a statement issued by Air India. Under the arrangement, passengers will receive all boarding passes for all sectors at the first point of departure, with baggage checked through to the final destination. Moreover, the pair have implemented a disruption transfer capability, allowing them to shift passengers to alternative flights by the other carrier in the event of disruptions. Air India, wholly owned by India’s Tata Group, is in the process of merging with Vistara, a joint venture between Tata and Singapore Airlines in which Tata owns the controlling 51% stake. The eventual merger will see SIA invest Rs20.6b ($252m) in Air India for a 25.1% stake. Following the merger, which requires regulatory approval, the Vistara brand will be retired in favour of the Air India branding. Air India is also in the process of merging Tata’s two low-cost brands, Air India Express and AirAsia India.<br/>