Global air travel trends and a wave of coming retirements are fueling an unprecedented demand for airline pilots that is already being felt. Regional carriers including Republic Airways, Cape Air and Horizon Air have had to cancel flights and cutback their schedules due to a shortage of pilots, and forecasts indicate the trend will accelerate. Boeing’s 2017 Pilot Outlook calculates airlines in North America will require 117,000 new pilots over the next 20 years, while globally about 637,000 new crewmembers will be needed. Moreover, these figures are 3.6 percent higher than the forecast of just a year ago, as the true dimensions of the expected shortage take shape. Airbus’s 2017 global forecast predicts some 534,000 new pilots will be needed by 2036 just to fly passenger airliners of 100 seats or more.
The Pilot Shortage Trend is Creating Tremendous Opportunities
Key Takeaways:
- A severe and growing global pilot shortage, fueled by increased air travel and a wave of impending retirements, is already leading to flight cancellations and reduced schedules for regional carriers.
- Forecasts indicate hundreds of thousands of new pilots will be needed worldwide over the next two decades, with a significant portion of major U.S. airline pilots set to retire, intensifying the demand.
- To attract and retain talent, airlines are offering unprecedented incentives such as higher pay, signing bonuses, tuition reimbursement, and significantly reduced career progression times, creating substantial opportunities for aspiring pilots.
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