Over the next 20 years, an expanding global fleet of aircraft will create jobs for more than 1.1 million commercial airline pilots and maintenance technicians, Boeing said in a forecast released Wednesday morning at EAA AirVenture. Overall, the global demand is driven by steadily increasing airplane deliveries, particularly wide-body airplanes, Boeing said, and represents a global requirement for about 27,000 new pilots and 29,000 new technicians each year.The outlook represents a challenge, said Sherry Carbary, vice president of Boeing Flight Services. “This is a global issue that can only be solved by all of the parties involved — airlines, aircraft and training equipment manufacturers, training delivery organizations, regulatory agencies and educational institutions around the world.”
Carbary told the Seattle Times the supply of pilots and mechanics in the U.S. is currently “keeping up with demand… [but] there could be an issue in some of these developing countries if we don’t come together and deal with it.” Boeing’s forecast says North America will need 88,000 new pilots and 109,000 new maintenance technicians in the next 20 years, while the greatest demand will be in the Asia-Pacific region, where airlines will need to hire 216,000 pilots and 224,000 technicians. Carbary told the Times the airline industry, government and training institutions “need to come together now and address this issue so there isn’t a shortfall.”
