World's grounded pilots swamp recruiters in desperate effort to get jobs

Job applications from down-on-their-luck aviators, from Brazil and Mexico to Canada and Europe, have jumped at least 30-fold: Analyst.

When UK-based Goose Recruitment kicked off a recent campaign to find 30 Boeing Co. 737 cargo pilots for a client in Europe, 400 resumes poured in within 48 hours. Most of the applicants used to fly commercial passenger jets.

"Pre-Covid, most airline pilots would look down their noses at flying cargo," Goose’s Chief Executive Officer Mark Charman said in an interview from his office in Southampton on England’s south coast. "Now they’re like, ‘Pick me!’"

This clamor for work is being reflected around the world, as desperate pilots who’ve been grounded by the pandemic for more than a year mob recruiters