If you are interested in becoming a professional pilot and flying for a U.S. airline, you will be interested in this:
Dr. Gerald Dillingham is the Director of Civil Aviation Studies at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). He said "We are hearing widespread concern about a pending pilot shortage in the not-too-distant future from almost every set of stakeholders that we talk to." He also said that the regional airlines are concerned about what they call the "domino effect." that is, when the major airlines (such as American, United and Delta) hire a large number of pilots, their principal sourced would be the regional airlines. What that means down the line is that regional airlines, which fly nearly 50% of people in the U.S. overall, would find themselves with a critical shortage of pilots.
This is a real national concern. A new report, called Global and Regional 20-year Forecasts - Pilots, Maintenance Personnel and Air Traffic Controllers, predicts a combined total of more than two million jobs needed, as a result of retirement and growth of airlines' business.
The number of commercial aircraft will have increased from 61,833 in the U.S. in 2010 to 151,565 between 2010 and 2030.
By 2030, the world's airline system will require 980,799 pilots, more than double the current number of 463,386 pilots.
According to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO),The forecast estimates the highest increase in commercial aviation growth will occur in the Asia/Pacific region of the world in the next 20 years. Next up is the Latin American region, followed by the Middle East and Europe.