Boeing projects strong demand for pilots and technicians

Asia-Pacific will need almost 200,000 new commercial airline pilots to support expanding demand for new airplane deliveries over the next two decades, according to a new report by Boeing.

The 2013 Boeing Pilot & Technician Outlook, a bellwether industry forecast of aviation personnel demand, calls for 192,300 new commercial airline pilots and 215,300 new technicians in the Asia Pacific region through 2032.

"There is a very real, urgent demand for competent aviation personnel globally, and the Asia Pacific region is particularly impacted," said Bob Bellitto, global sales director, Boeing Flight Services, here today.

"While Boeing is investing in cutting-edge technologies to attract and retain young people interested in careers in aviation, this is an industry-wide issue that can only be solved with industry-wide solutions," he said.

Leading the region in projected demand for new pilots and technicians is China with 77,400 pilots and 93,900 technicians and Southeast Asia with 48,100 pilots and 50,300 technicians.

Other parts of the region would also continue to see long-term demand in the tens of thousands of pilots and technicians, said Boeing.

It said Southwest Asia would need 30,900 pilots and 28,500 technicians, and Northeast Asia would need 18,500 pilots and 25,500 technicians.

The Oceania region would need 17,400 pilots and 17,100 technicians.

"Aviation is a great field to be in-we have a responsibility to make sure it's a viable career option for the world's youth," said Bellitto.

"Tomorrow's aviation workforce is going to be very different than their present-day peers. We need to focus on their expectations for learning, moving away from paper and chalkboard-based techniques to incorporate tablets, eBooks, gaming technology and three-dimensional models."

In April 2013, Boeing announced the decision to install two new full-flight simulators-a 777 and Next-Generation 737-at its Singapore training campus.

The simulators were expected to be ready for training in early to mid-2014.

The added 737 training capability would help meet demand as customers in Southeast Asia as well as, Japan, South Korea and China take delivery of new airplanes.

Airlines in China and Indonesia, as well as in the Middle East and Africa, would benefit from the increased 777 training capacity, said Boeing.