US regional airline chiefs say pilot shortage has eased but could flare up again

Chief executives of major US regional airlines say the pilot supply squeeze has loosened compared with the years after the pandemic. But they warn it could tighten again if large carriers resume heavy hiring.

Horizon Air chief executive Andy Schneider told the Regional Airline Association Leaders Conference in Washington DC on 23 September that the problem is no longer as severe as it was after Covid-19, though it could build up again at short notice. He expects major airlines to prepare for significant recruitment.

The tone marks a change from earlier years, when RAA chief executive Faye Malarkey Black described a pronounced pilot shortage that limited the routes regionals wanted to serve and left aircraft parked.

Data from Future and Active Pilots Advisors shows hiring by large US airlines fell to roughly 4,500 in 2025, against as many as 13,000 in 2022. United Airlines said in October 2025 that it expected to take on more than 2,000 pilots in 2026, and industry-wide hiring could exceed last year's total.

Some of the easing has come from outside the hiring cycle. Delivery delays at Airbus and Boeing have held back mainline growth, and the shutdown of Spirit Airlines in May returned about 2,000 experienced pilots to the job market. Before Spirit's liquidation, Black, who moderated the panel, said major carriers were hiring pilots faster than new ones were being certificated.

Schneider said maintenance technicians are an equally binding constraint. RAA figures show most active mechanics are older than 50.