Thanksgiving air-travel up 1.5%; US carriers expand to accommodate them
Published Dec 2, 2013 on Pilot Jobs
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United States airline industry group, Airlines for America (A4A), has projected that 25 million passengers have flown on US airlines this Thanksgiving travel period—Nov. 22 through Dec. 3—an increase of 1.5% from 2012. It is expecting 31,000 more travelers per day. Aircraft will be “more than 85% full on the busiest travel days, which are Wednesday, Nov. 27 (2.42 million passengers), Sunday, Dec. 1 (2.56 million passengers) and Monday, Dec. 2 (2.36 million passengers),” A4A said in a statement.
“To accommodate growing demand … carriers are increasing the number of available seats for Thanksgiving travel by roughly 2%,” A4A VP and chief economist John Heimlich said.
Additionally, A4A is reporting the 10 largest US carriers posted net earnings of $4.5 billion during the first nine months of 2013, creating a net profit margin of 4%, up $312 million from 2012.
All of the airlines in this report are presently hiring pilots to fly new aircraft that they are buying now to accommodate growing numbers of airline passengers. There is presently a shortage of pilots in the world, which creates opportunities for anyone wanting to become and airline pilot. The best training for aspiring pilots is at ATP: In the airline business seniority is everything, get there first with ATP.