Asia-Pacific Flight Training Shows Two-Year Growth

The number of flight training schools in the Asia-Pacific region grew 4 percent between 2018 and 2020, according to a report published this month by Asian Sky Group (ASG). The group found that there were 356 aviation training schools operating 565 helicopters and 2,931 fixed-wing aircraft in the region at the end of 2020. Mainland China experienced largest increase in the number of flight schools, adding 17 over two years. Australia, which represents the largest flight training market in the region, had a net decrease of three schools between 2018 and 2020.

“Although COVID-19 had a dramatic effect on the aviation industry, training schools in Asia-Pacific showed resilience, especially when compared to 2018,” ASG said in its 2020 Training Report. “For the whole Asia-Pacific region, there were 24 more training schools, 205 more fixed-wing and 48 more helicopter training aircraft in 2020 than in 2018.”

Of the 356 flight schools in the region at the end of last year, 270 offered only fixed-wing training, 65 offered only helicopter training and 21 provided both. ASG found that the Cessna 172 was the most popular training model in the region, making up 34 percent of the Asia-Pacific fixed-wing training fleet, followed by the Diamond DA40 (12 percent), Cessna 152 (10 percent) and Piper PA-28 (7 percent). The most popular training helicopters were the Robinson R44, representing 19 percent of the regional rotorcraft training fleet, Bell 206 (16 percent) and Robinson R22 (14 percent).

The complete ASG 2020 Training Report can be viewed at www.asianskymedia.com/training.