Boeing Forecasts Nearly 1.5 Million Pilots And Technicians Needed By 2035

KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 (Bernama) -- Boeing projects nearly 1.5 million pilots and technicians needed over the next 20 years. In a statement, Boeing said the world's commercial aviation industry will require approximately 617,000 new commercial airline pilots between 2016 and 2035. In its 2016 Pilot and Technician Outlook released on Monday, July 25, Boeing stated that 679,000 new commercial airline maintenance technicians and 814,000 new cabin crew would be required between 2016 and 2035. In its seventh year, the outlook is a respected industry study which forecasts the 20-year demand for crews to support the world's growing commercial airplane fleet. New this year is a look at cabin crew demand. "The 2016 outlook shows a growth of 10.5 per cent for pilots over the 2015 outlook and 11.3 per cent for maintenance technicians. "New pilot demand is primarily driven by new airplane deliveries and fleet mix, while new technician demand is primarily driven by fleet growth," it said. Boeing Flight Services Vice President Sherry Carbary said the Pilot and Technician Outlook has become a resource for the industry to determine demand for successful airline operations. "Cabin crew are an integral part of operating an airline, and while Boeing does not train cabin crew like pilots and technicians, we believe the industry can use these numbers for planning purposes," Carbary said. The outlook represents a global requirement for about 31,000 new pilots, 35,000 new technicians and 40,000 cabin crew annually. As for the Asia Pacific region, Boeing projects approximately 248,000 new pilots, 268,000 new technicians and 298,000 new cabin crew required for the next 20 years. "The Asia-Pacific region comprises 40 per cent of the global need due to the growth in the single-aisle market which is driven by low-cost carriers, while North America is the result of new markets opening in Cuba and Mexico, and demand in Europe has increased as a response to a strong intra-European Union market," said Boeing. --BERNAMA