Boeing Forecasts Asia-Pacific Demand for 272,000 New Pilots Through 2045

Asia-Pacific – Boeing forecasts that commercial aviation across Asia-Pacific will require approximately 969,000 new aviation professionals between 2026 and 2045, including 272,000 pilots, as fleet growth and personnel replacement drive long-term recruitment and training demand across the region.

• Boeing’s 2026 Pilot and Technician Outlook projects demand across China, Northeast Asia, Oceania, South Asia and Southeast Asia for 272,000 new pilots, 302,000 maintenance technicians and 395,000 cabin crew members through 2045, taking the combined regional requirement to 969,000 personnel.
• China represents the largest Asia-Pacific pilot requirement at 123,000, followed by Southeast Asia at 66,000, South Asia at 48,000, Northeast Asia at 24,000 and Oceania at 11,000.
• Southeast Asia is forecast to require 258,000 aviation professionals in total, including 66,000 pilots, 83,000 maintenance technicians and 109,000 cabin crew. South Asia is projected to require a further 150,000 personnel, including 48,000 pilots.
• Boeing’s methodology covers commercial passenger and freight aircraft with more than 30 seats and calculates workforce requirements based on fleet growth and replacement, aircraft utilisation, attrition and regional crewing patterns. Business aviation and civil helicopter demand are excluded.
• Globally, Boeing forecasts demand for 674,000 new pilots, 728,000 maintenance technicians and 1.023 million cabin crew members through 2045. Approximately two-thirds of the new personnel requirement is expected to replace workers leaving the industry, while one-third supports commercial fleet growth.
• Asia-Pacific represents approximately 40% of Boeing’s projected global new-pilot requirement.

Source: Boeing