SINGAPORE - Boeing reports that the Asia Pacific region continues to drive global demand for commercial pilots, technicians and cabin crew. The region accounts for more than one-third of anticipated global demand, or 816,000 total new commercial aviation personnel over the next 20 years.
The 2019 Boeing Pilot & Technician Outlook is an industry forecast of new aviation personnel demand. It is closely tied to projections for new airplane deliveries around the globe, and also takes into account annual aircraft utilization rates, crewing requirements by region and regulatory requirements. Over the next 20 years, airlines around the world will need 44,000 new airplanes, with more than 17,000, or 39%, of those airplanes delivered to the Asia Pacific region.
The forecast projects that the Asia Pacific region will need 244,000 new commercial pilots, or 38%, of the pilots needed around the globe. This demand, stemming from a mix of anticipated fleet growth, retirements and attrition, will be most significant in China; the country is expected to need 124,000 pilots, which is more than half of those needed in the region as a whole. Southeast Asia and South Asia follow, with 20% and 17% of the demand respectively.
The Asia Pacific region is also expected to lead global demand for maintenance technicians (249,000, or 39% of global demand) and cabin crew (323,000, or 37% of global demand), with China leading demand for both (124,000 maintenance technicians and 150,000 cabin crew).
