Pilots see training need for Africa as high growth rates forecast

The UK airline training and pilot resource company, CTC Aviation, which provides training for many of the world’s major airlines, including Africa’s new start-up Fastjet, carried out research among almost a thousand aviation professionals around the world and found that only 2.7% expect the global number of air passengers to decline over the next five years, with 90.9% expecting an increase. Overall, more than one in three of those polled anticipate a double-digit percentage rise.

 

Rob Clarke, CTC’s chief executive (pictured right) said: “Globally, there are around 22,000 commercial jets, and this is forecast to grow to 40,000 by 2030. Furthermore, there are currently some 147,000 pilots, but between now and 2021, we need to find a further 235,000 to pilot the growing fleet of aircraft, meet the increased demand for airline travel and to replace those who will retire.

 

“We are seeing growth in all of our markets, but the emerging ones perhaps offer the most exciting opportunities. The region with the highest number of aircraft on order is Asia, and in total it accounts for some 40% of the world’s demand for new aircraft. The number of new aircraft to be delivered to Asia equates to around 56% of its current fleet size.

 

“We have a strong reputation in the market, which is reflected in the fact that we work with over 50 global airlines each year, including British Airways, easyJet, flydubai, Monarch Airlines, Jetstar, Dragonair and Qatar Airways to name but a few. As the aviation sector grows and demand for pilots escalates, we are determined to capitalise on this opportunity. However, we will only succeed if we remain true to our values of providing a quality, innovative and flexible service that is underpinned by aviation expertise.”    

 

CTC’s research1 amongst pilots reveals that globally, they believe that the Asia Pacific aviation market will see the strongest revenue growth over the next 10 years. Some 41% anticipate that it will increase by more than 40% over this period, compared to 26.7% who said this for the Middle East market. This is followed by 19.2% who expect this scale of growth for the aviation sector in Africa.