A Look at the Air Travel Industry in 2024: Why It’s Still a Good Time to Become a Pilot

As August approaches and the summer travel frenzy starts to subside with this back-to-school season, the air travel industry has seen a record high this summer with flights booked and passengers traveled.

If you thought the air travel industry was slowing down this year, think again! While 2023 produced several record-breaking travel days, 2024 has consistently broken the same records and exceeded passenger traffic expectations. Just when you thought the record-breaking travel numbers were done, the TSA continues to screen record-breaking amounts of passengers.

Even for a non-holiday travel time, June 23rd quietly broke the prior record for the most passengers screened in a single day with 2,996,193 people traveling. A record that stood for just two weeks!

Most recently, the July 4th weekend of increased passenger traffic beat every record previously set and eclipsed 3 million passengers for the first time ever. July 7th took the crown for the Busiest Day in U.S. Air Travel History with 3,013,413 passengers screened by TSA in a single day. This new record-breaking day has proven that the demand for air travel continues and the industry is continuing to thrive.

Looking ahead, August will conclude the busier air travel season of the summer, allowing airlines to prepare for increased travel predictions surrounding Labor Day weekend. Time will tell if 2024 will break additional travel records, but based off the current demand for travel, the chances seem likely!

To handle this additional passenger volume, several airlines are growing their fleet, including United Airlines, Delta Airlines, and American Airlines. Collectively, they’ve ordered hundreds of new planes that will be delivered over the next few years. With new planes comes the need for more pilots to fly those planes – but you may have also seen headlines of airlines halting their pilot hiring, so how can that be the case?

Following the post-pandemic recovery, the major airlines went on a pilot hiring frenzy to meet the quick growth in short term demand, backfilling the pilots that left during the pandemic. This quickly pulled pilots through the system, from Regional Airlines to Major Airlines. 

This short-term factor was not expected to last and has now subsided, but overall pilot hiring remains significantly higher than pre-pandemic level, and many regional airlines are still hiring to meet their own needs. AeroGuard partner SkyWest Airlines is still hiring to fully staff their growing fleet and support the demand for air travel. SkyWest expects to increase their pilot workforce by 25%, increasing by about 1,000 pilots from last year.

Long term, airline travel is clearly not likely to decrease, and according to Boeing’s Pilot and Technician outlook, nearly 130,000 pilots will be needed in North America over the next 20 years to fly the planes they plan on selling.

If you’re looking for a long term career, our Pilot Pathway Program with SkyWest creates a direct path for student pilots to gain all 7 FAA certifications and ratings to become professional pilots. Upon program completion and building 1,500 flight hours required for employment at U.S. airlines, AeroGuard Cadets receive a Guaranteed First Officer Interview with SkyWest. 

From start to finish, our students have a structured framework and direct path to their future careers as commercial airline pilots. If you’ve every thought about becoming a pilot, this is your sign that the opportunity of a lifetime is still ready for you. The air travel industry continues to buzz and break passenger traffic records, and it’s still a great time to become a pilot and pursue a rewarding and successful career! Talk to one of AeroGuard’s Enrollment Advisors to learn more about how you can get started!