United Airlines recalling all furloughed pilots

United Airlines announced Thursday morning that it will recall the "nearly 600 pilots" currently on furlough.

The company says it's making the move "to address the airline's future staffing needs," adding that "no United pilots will remain on furlough following the recall."

"We look forward to welcoming back our co-workers as we complete work to integrate all of our pilots into a single work group," Howard Attarian, United's senior vice president of Flight Operations, says in a statement. "We are pleased to have this group of talented aviators back on our team. They are among the most experienced and most accomplished in the industry."

However, The Wall Street Journal notes that United "isn't calling back the pilots because it plans a growth spree."

Instead, the airline says the recall is meant to filling positions that will come open as current pilots retire and because of new pilot rest rules that United expects will require it to increase its number of pilots.

United says training classes for the recalled pilots will begin next month and run through the end of the year. In total, United has more than 12,000 pilots.

"We welcome our brother and sister pilots back with open arms," Captain Jay Heppner, chairman of the leadership council of United's branch of the Air Line Pilots Association, says in a relesae. "We have worked toward this day for more than five years."

The recall announcement comes a day after the pilot's union announced a three-member arbitration panel has established a merged seniority list, which is final and binding.

United and Continental merged in 2010, and pilots approved a joint union contract in December.

But they also needed a merged list that ranks who was hired when. Seniority is important to pilots because it dictates who gets the most favorable schedules, who flies which planes, and who gets laid off first.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.