Huge Pilot Shortage Ahead

The shortage of commercial pilots globally is expected to be significant in the next decade. According to aircraft manufacturers, 17,650 new passenger aircraft will be delivered in the next 8 years. This will require more than 200,00 new pilots -- or nearly 19,000 new pilots hired each year.  Those are astonishing numbers, but they are accurate. The opportunity for young career pilots is excellent! 

Currently global pilot training programs can train only about 15,000 per year, which would leave a shortfall of over 3,000 new pilots annually. That means that as a young commercial pilot you may expect higher pay and more attractive benefits, as the airline work to keep their pilots because of the scarcity. It's just supply-and-demand: the demand for pilots will be great, and the supply small.

The emerging commercial aviation markets -- Asia, India and the Middle East -- are gowing faster than the rest of the world, and these areas have very limited capacity for pilot training. Therefore, right now, with airlines in developing regions, foreign flight crews are being used. Airlines are also working hard to attract new pilots.  According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) director of operations, "one Middle East airline has an advertisement trargeting North American regional airline pilots or general aviation pilots, offering a career path that leads to piloting an A380 jumbo jet in the Middle East." North America currently is not yet experiencing pilot shortages, as the continent has a slower commercial aviation growth rate.

Learn more about the opportunity for you to be an airline pilot, contact www.pea.com.