American Airlines is pumping the brakes on hiring new pilots in the second half of this year as it considers capacity changes across its network. ”As part of our previously announced capacity adjustments, we are temporarily pausing new pilot class start dates for September, October and November,” the carrier told FlightGlobal on 24 June. ”This decision allows us to optimise our capacity and tailor our talent growth plans to best serve the current needs of our airline.” Pilots who received conditional job offers from American have been notified of the hiring pause, the company says. “We will provide these candidates with an update on their 2025 class schedule later this year,” American adds. “There is no impact to current pilots, including those in training.” The Fort Worth-based carrier acknowledged needing to change its strategy in late May, when it lowered its earnings outlook for the second quarter and disclosed the departure of CCO Vasu Raja. “We’ve got some work to do on building back from the hole we’ve created for ourselves,” CE Robert Isom said at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference on 29 May. “Pilot recruitment remains an ongoing priority for American,” the carrier says, “and we are committed to attracting and retaining top pilot talent.” <br/>
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Ground handling staff and pilots at Japan Airlines Co. have expressed concern about a lack of on-the-job training and difficulties communicating with more senior employees, according to people familiar with the matter, amid a series of safety incidents at the carrier. During the pandemic, many ground handling staff aged between 30 and 50 left JAL to try their luck elsewhere because they didn’t see an immediate recovery in the airline industry, breaking a connecting string between veterans and younger staff, the people said. Those employees would have normally provided informal training to new recruits and younger people now feel unable to freely ask questions of more senior workers, they added, asking not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak publicly. A similar dynamic has been playing out in JAL cockpits where sometimes pilots are meeting each other for the first time, the people said. That’s making it more difficult to communicate concerns in a country where seniority-based hierarchy still runs deep, the people said. A spokesperson for JAL declined to comment. The Japanese airline touched upon the lack of skilled manpower at its shareholder meeting last week. “We failed to build an environment where ground staff could ensure safety amid various pressures and that led to the series of incidents,” said Munekazu Tachibana, the carrier’s senior vice president of corporate safety and security.<br/>