Southwest Airways employed a document 3,000 flight attendants to this point this 12 months

Southwest Airways has employed and skilled 3,000 flight attendants to this point this 12 months, practically triple its document cabin crew member hiring in all of 2018, the service informed employees final week.

Southwest and different airways are nonetheless racing to rent and practice employees to cater to a rebound in journey demand, which executives anticipate to carry up this fall, led by robust leisure bookings.

Airways have been prohibited from shedding employees in the course of the Covid pandemic underneath the phrases of a $54 billion bailout however have been allowed to supply workers prolonged leaves of absence or early retirement.

Southwest mentioned it at the moment has greater than 62,000 full-time equal workers. That is greater than the 60,800 it had on the finish of 2019, earlier than the pandemic. 

Southwest has additionally hosted three “Hiring Blitzes” at its company campus in Dallas, the place flight attendant candidates are interviewed, carry out bodily efficiency requirements assessments and different screenings with a possible for on-the-spot contingent job presents. One other is scheduled for this week, Southwest mentioned in an worker memo final week.

The service informed employees that it has 7,000 flight attendants in its hiring pipeline and that its attrition price amongst new cabin crew members has dropped to 2.5% in contrast with 6.1% in 2019.

The hiring spree comes as Southwest flight attendants’ union and administration have been locked in contract negotiations. Talks with a federal mediator are set to start Nov. 1 in Dallas, in keeping with the memo.

Southwest and United Airways flight attendants, that are represented by the Affiliation of Flight Attendants-CWA, are set to picket at main airports on Tuesday to demand higher working circumstances.