With the new year comes new opportunity. Alaska Airlines is looking to extend opportunities to thousands this year as it plans to hire more than 3,500 employees. The airline is continuously working on expanding its services amid the ongoing post-pandemic travel demand. It hopes to hire thousands of employees throughout the year to help staff this expansion while optimizing its services. Alaska Airlines is looking to hire new employees in every category, from pilots to gate agents.
Expanding team
Alaska Airlines’ ambitious announcement to expand its team by 3,525 members this year came on January 10th. In the statement, the airline gave a breakdown of how many employees it was looking to hire per job description. It plans to hire 550 pilots, 1,000 flight attendants, 1,000 customer service agents, 135 maintenance technicians, 240 contact center agents, 100 ramp agents, and 500 management personnel. The majority of these positions are at or based out of the airlines Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and Portland International Airport (PDX) hubs.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
The airline’s Senior Vice President of People, Andy Schneider, shared the airline’s enthusiasm for the team expansion. He said that the airline is excited to bring on large amounts of new talent as it expands its Alaska Airlines family. Scheider stated,
“It’s an exciting time to join our team, and we’re eager to welcome more great people to Alaska,
“We offer a wide variety of positions, and we pride ourselves on nurturing talent and providing opportunities to learn new skills and move into new, challenging roles. Come join our winning team!”
Reasons for team expansion
The ambitious goal to hire so many new employees comes just weeks after the airline suffered numerous flight disruptions during the holiday season. In the days leading up to Christmas, the airline was forced to cancel thousands of flights as winter storms battered the US. One storm, in particular, brought freezing rain to its hub at SEA and its hub at PDX.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
The massive number of flight disruptions overwhelmed existing airline staff at the time, leading to many passengers having to wait hours to get a hold of anyone that could help them. This dilemma showcased how understaffed the airline was in certain departments to handle such a large operational disruption. One of the biggest reasons the airline is looking to hire additional employees is to better prepare for other disruptions that could happen in the future.
The second primary reason, perhaps the main reason Alaska Airlines is looking to expand its team, is that it is continuously expanding its network and services. Since the pandemic travel restrictions were removed, Alaska and other US airlines have seen strong demand for air travel. This demand has fueled the airline through its pandemic recovery and is enabling it to continue expanding its operations. These enlarged operations will require additional staff in every department to help support them.
Part of this expansion involves the airline receiving additional aircraft this year—particularly 737 MAX airplanes from Alaska Airlines’ neighborhood aircraft manufacturer Boeing. The airline will need additional flight crews, maintenance personnel, ground crews, gate agents, and more to operate the new aircraft as it increases its route network and flight frequency on existing routes.
What do you think of Alaska Airlines expanding its team this year? Let us know in the comments below.
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Alaska Airlines
- IATA/ICAO Code:
- AS/ASA
- Airline Type:
- Full Service Carrier
- Hub(s):
- Anchorage International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Portland International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
- Year Founded:
- 1932
- Alliance:
- oneworld
- CEO:
- Ben Minicucci
- Country:
- United States
