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:
- The airline industry faces an unprecedented global pilot shortage, driven by increased air travel and a wave of impending retirements, leading to flight cancellations and schedule reductions, particularly at regional carriers.
- Forecasts project hundreds of thousands of new pilots are needed worldwide, with a significant portion of current major U.S. airline pilots retiring within a decade, intensifying competition for talent.
- This severe demand has led regional airlines to offer substantial financial incentives (bonuses, higher pay) and dramatically reduce career progression times, creating significant opportunities for aspiring pilots to achieve an airline career in a much shorter timeframe.
Key takeaways sponsored by Aviator Pro | Start Your Training ->
See a mistake? Contact us.
