Asian Aviation Market Need to Recruit More Pilots

The International Civil Aviation Organisation has announced that Asia will need an extra 9,000 pilots a year over the next ten years. They are able to train 5,000 pilots, however 14,000 in total will be needed each year. A total 230,000 pilots will be needed over the next 20 years which is a lot more than the current 50,000.

“Never in human history have we seen a time when two billion people will enter the middle class and demand air travel. That time is now,” said a representative of Flight Safety Foundation.

One of India's largest private airlines, IndiGo, ordered 180 Airbus A320’s at the Paris Air Show costing in the region of $16 billion. The company said it was looking for candidates who were aged between 20 and 30 and who were fluent in English to become pilots for their passenger jets.

One employee of Air India, said it was becoming more common for cabin crew to change jobs and retrain as commercial pilots. There are a lot of cabin crew that have done this. They start their training on a part-time basis and finally switch once they have qualified. These new pilots can earn around 5 times as much compared to cabin crew.

A spokesperson for the Civil Aviation in India said “India's airline industry needs trained pilots due to the fact that they are expanding their operations so quickly.”

Over the next 20 years Airbus and Boeing predict that Asia will make-up for about one third of global aircraft sales which could be worth in excess of $1 trillion.

Last month, Lion Air, based in Indonesia, placed an order with Boeing for 230 Boeing 737s, with an option to buy 150 more. Qatar Airways placed an order with Airbus for 55 jets.

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