Boeing advises pilots to head for Asia

China Eastern Airline jets are pictured at Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai, China. Airlines are still in for financial turbulence despite a recent fall in oil prices, although China Eastern Airlines says it would help if fuel prices remain at a reasonably low and stable level. AP FILE PHOTO/ALEXANDER F. YUAN

PARIS—Asian airlines that are now recruiting pilots abroad will need more than 180,000 over the next two decades, according to a study released on Tuesday by the US aircraft manufacturer Boeing.

The group’s 2012 Pilot and Technician Outlook said that the Asia/Pacific region will require “185,600 new pilots and 243,500 new technicians” and that for China alone the figures were 71,300 and 99,400 respectively.

Fast-growing airlines in Asia and the Middle East have begun to look for trained pilots in Europe and the Americas, as many established carriers there seek to downsize, in part owing to high personnel costs.

The trade magazine FlightGlobal reported recently that Chinese carriers had hired 100 US pilots during a three-day road show in the United States.

According to WASINC International, which organized the events, starting wages for a three-year contract in China were as much as $200,000 per year, compared with $180,000 in the US.

Boeing’s statement quoted global sales director Bob Bellitto as saying: “This great need for aviation personnel is a global issue, but it’s hitting the Asia Pacific region particularly hard.

“Some airlines are already experiencing delays and operational interruptions because they don’t have enough qualified pilots.”