One thousand pilots apply for 100 jobs at United Airlines

A Recruitment drive by United Airlines has attracted applications from more than 1,000 pilots, who are seeking to fill for 100 positions at United, in the first 10 days of the application process.

"We are impressed by the volume of applications and, more importantly, by the calibre and diversity of the candidates applying for these positions," said Captain Hank Krakowski, vice president of Flight Operations. "We set extremely high standards for our pilots and are looking for the best of the best to join our distinguished team."

United officially opened the online application site at united.com/pilot earlier this month. This is the first time the company has hired new pilots since 2001. This latest hiring effort is being driven by United's expansion of flying into international markets.

New pilots will begin training at United's state-of-the-art Flight Training Centre in Denver as early as October, with the first group expected to be flying for United by the end of the year.

United Airlines operates more than 3,600 flights a day on United, United Express and Ted to more than 210 US domestic and international destinations from its hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Chicago and Washington, DC.