Aviation operators in Southeast Asia are expected to need more than 234,000 new pilots, maintenance technicians, and cabin crew in the near future. That’s more than three times the current number of active personnel.
This growth is driven by economic expansion that outpaces the global average and a rising middle class. To meet the surge in air travel demand, the aircraft fleet in the region is expected to grow more than threefold to reach 4,960 planes.
According to Boeing’s 2024 Commercial Market Outlook (CMO)—which provides a long-term forecast for commercial airplanes and related services—passenger air traffic in Southeast Asia is projected to grow by 7.2% annually through 2043, far exceeding the global average growth rate of 4.7% per year.
“This will drive the development of low-cost business models and boost the tourism travel segment,” said David Schulte, managing director of Boeing Commercial Marketing for Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania.
By 2043, Boeing also forecasts that airlines in Southeast Asia will expand their share of the Asia-Pacific fleet from 17% to 25%. To accommodate long-haul flight demand, wide-body planes like the 787 Dreamliner will account for one in five deliveries in the region.
In addition, the region will require more than 120 new and converted cargo planes to support increasingly diversified global supply chains and the growing demand for e-commerce.