The struggling economy has claimed AIR, Inc., an aviation career information service based in Atlanta. AIR, Inc.’s Web site, offered information on airline job openings, career fairs, and résumé services. The site also provided information on pilot hiring to AOPA Flight Training, which published the month-by-month hiring data in its “Career Pilot” section.
“[T]he current status of the airline industry and the economy has made our business unsustainable, and we are closing,” AIR, Inc. President and Publisher Kit Darby said in a message to subscribers that is also posted on the Web site. The shutdown was effective Feb. 13.
Darby said AIR, Inc. members and subscribers can continue to receive services at no cost from FltOps.com for the duration of their membership, so long as they enroll by April 15. He said the jet-jobs.com Web site would remain available to members throughout the length of their membership, but would not be updated.
With the exception of a bump in September 2008, pilot hiring has dropped each month from January 2008 to December 2008, the last month for which hiring data was available. Aviation employers hired 1,101 pilots in January 2008; by December, the number had fallen to 114, according to AIR, Inc. Airline pilot hiring totals for 2008 were 6,479; in 2007, the industry hired 13,157 pilots.
AOPA ePublishing staff
Related Articles
