Boeing’s latest Pilot and Technician Outlook projects a demand for more than 1.2 million pilots and technicians over the next 20 years.

Now in its eighth year, the outlook forecasts the 20-year demand for crews to support the world’s growing commercial airplane fleet.

Boeing forecasts that between 2017 and 2036, the world’s commercial aviation industry will require approximately:

  • 637,000 new commercial airline pilots
  • 648,000 new commercial airline maintenance technicians
  • 839,000 new cabin crew members

The 2017 outlook shows a slight increase of 3.2% for pilots over the 2016 outlook, and a slight decrease in the need for airline maintenance technicians (4.6%), primarily driven, Boeing says, by the reduction in maintenance hours required on the 737 MAX.

Projected demand for new pilots, technicians and cabin crew by global region for the next 20 years is approximately:

Region New Pilots New Technicians New Cabin Crew
Asia-Pacific 253,000 256,000 308,000
Europe 106,000 111,000 173,000
North America 117,000 118,000 154,000
Latin America 52,000 49,000 52,000
Middle East 63,000 66,000 96,000
Africa 24,000 23,000 28,000
Russia / CIS 22,000 25,000 28,000