A tightening labor market and growing demand for airline travel is expected to dramatically increase the need for new pilots over the next 20 years, according to a study from Boeing released on Monday.
The projection comes as the Senate weighs whether to drop a measure to facilitate pilot training from its bill reauthorizing funding for the Federal Aviation Administration. Key sponsors are hoping to move the legislation to the Senate floor before the current funding expires after Sept. 30, but a looming battle over a new Supreme Court justice may delay consideration.
Boeing projects demand for 790,000 new pilots over the next two decades, an increase the Chicago-based company labeled the “most significant demand” in the nine-year history of its Pilot and Technician Outlook.
“Despite strong global air-traffic growth, the aviation industry continues to face a pilot labor-supply challenge, raising concern about the existence of a global pilot shortage in the near-term,” Boeing Vice President Keith Cooper said in a statement. “An emphasis on developing the next generation of pilots is key to help mitigate this.”
Pilots are required by federal law to retire by the age of 65, spurring concerns among airlines that their staffs will be dramatically thinned at a time when air travel demand is booming. Some companies are already pursuing training initiatives to help address the looming shortage.
Delta Air Lines, for example, is offering flight attendants and other staff an unpaid leave of absence to become trained pilots. The Atlanta-based airline recently said it would need to hire more than 8,000 pilots in the next 10 years.
Demand for cabin crew is expected to increase slightly to 858,000, Boeing said, while maintenance positions will drop to 622,000.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, is considering dropping a provision in the FAA reauthorization bill that might have helped with the pilot shortage by allowing more flexibility to meet the 1,500 flight hours need for certification after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer threatened to block the bill if it were included.
The FAA issued a final rule earlier this month to allow second-in-command hours to count toward the 1,500-hour requirement.
