Pilot Careers

Aircraft maker Boeing (BA) forecast that 558,000 new commercial airline pilots will be needed over the next 20 years, in a report released Min July 2015. That works out to about 28,000 pilots each year.

Technicians will be in even hotter demand. Boeing projects 609,000 new commercial aircraft maintenance workers will be required by 2034.

Global economic growth is spreading wealth and making travel possible for millions of new fliers around the world.

Boeing said close to 38,000 passenger planes — worth $5.6 trillion — will be needed over the next 20 years to meet surging travel demand. It’s in line with rival Airbus’ (EADSF) recent forecast for 32,600 new aircraft by 2034.

At the same time, planes are getting larger. A spokeswoman for Boeing said bigger planes need larger pilot crews, while pilot attrition rates are coinciding with newer fleets, increasing the demand for these jobs.

Much of the demand is coming from Asia.

About 40% of new airplane deliveries will go to carriers in the region, according to Boeing. The company said more than 100 million new passengers will enter the Asian market each year for the “foreseeable future”. Budget air travel has proved a hit all over the world, but nowhere more so than in Asia.

The region is also facing the biggest pilot skills gap. It needs 226,000 new pilots by 2034 and China alone will account for 45 percent of that number, the planemaker said. That’s followed by North America and Europe, where demand for new pilots sits at 95,000.

There’s a great demand for training,” Boeing Flight Services Vice President Sherry Carbary said. “We delivered a record number of training last year for both pilots and technicians across our network and we are on track to do even more so this year.”

Asian air travel growth is lifting orders for planemakers Boeing and Airbus Group SE, with China forecast to surpass the U.S. as the world’s largest aircraft market within the next two decades. That’s creating a need for pilots and other trained personnel as budget airlines and startups across Asia buy new planes to expand their fleets.

The remainder of the roughly half a million new pilots needed will work for carriers across the Middle East, Latin America, Africa and Russia.

Aircraft maker Boeing (BA) forecast that 558,000 new commercial airline pilots will be needed over the next 20 years, in a report released Min July 2015. That works out to about 28,000 pilots each year.

Technicians will be in even hotter demand. Boeing projects 609,000 new commercial aircraft maintenance workers will be required by 2034.

Global economic growth is spreading wealth and making travel possible for millions of new fliers around the world.

Boeing said close to 38,000 passenger planes — worth $5.6 trillion — will be needed over the next 20 years to meet surging travel demand. It’s in line with rival Airbus’ (EADSF) recent forecast for 32,600 new aircraft by 2034.

At the same time, planes are getting larger.

A spokeswoman for Boeing said bigger planes need larger pilot crews, while pilot attrition rates are coinciding with newer fleets, increasing the demand for these jobs.

Much of the demand is coming from Asia.

About 40% of new airplane deliveries will go to carriers in the region, according to Boeing. The company said more than 100 million new passengers will enter the Asian market each year for the “foreseeable future”. Budget air travel has proved a hit all over the world, but nowhere more so than in Asia.

The region is also facing the biggest pilot skills gap. It needs 226,000 new pilots by 2034 and China alone will account for 45 percent of that number, the planemaker said. That’s followed by North America and Europe, where demand for new pilots sits at 95,000.

“There’s a great demand for training,” Boeing Flight Services Vice President Sherry Carbary said. “We delivered a record number of training last year for both pilots and technicians across our network and we are on track to do even more so this year.”

Asian air travel growth is lifting orders for planemakers Boeing and Airbus Group SE, with China forecast to surpass the U.S. as the world’s largest aircraft market within the next two decades. That’s creating a need for pilots and other trained personnel as budget airlines and startups across Asia buy new planes to expand their fleets.

The remainder of the roughly half a million new pilots needed will work for carriers across the Middle East, Latin America, Africa and Russia.

Number of new pilots needed by 2034

Asia Pacific 226K
Europe 95K
North America 95K
Middle East 60K
Latin America 47K
Africa 18K

Source: BOEING