New methods help meet demand for flight instructors and aviation personnel

BANGKOK, Sept. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Boeing (NYSE: BA) today called upon the aviation industry for a revised approach to training that includes the use of online and mobile devices to meet the demand for aviation personnel over the next 20 years. Speaking at the Asia Pacific Airline Training Symposium in Bangkok, Roei Ganzarski, chief customer officer, Boeing Flight Services, said the industry must focus on adopting newer methods of instruction that have proven successful in other fields.

Boeing forecasts the need for tens of thousands of flight instructors over the next 20 years to meet demands for new capable and well-qualified airline pilots worldwide.

“We must advance the training profession in order to attract and retain the passionate and competent talent needed to train the vast numbers of aviation personnel required,” said Ganzarski. “We need to train them in a way that is adaptable to a generation steeped in mobile and on-line technology.”

Boeing research into pilot training around the world highlights the critical role an instructor plays in the learning and performance of pilots.

“It should no longer be about an instructor’s number of flying hours. The next wave of professional instructors should place greater emphasis on student aptitude to ensure students reach their fullest potential,” Ganzarski said.

The 2011 Boeing Pilot & Technician Outlook indicates that by 2030 the global aviation industry will require 460,000 new commercial airline pilots and 650,000 new commercial airline maintenance technicians. To meet the demand for new pilots, Boeing estimates that the training industry will need a minimum of 1,200 new pilot instructors every year for the next twenty years.

Boeing Flight Services, a business unit of Boeing Commercial Aviation Services, is aligned with customer’s flight operations function and offers integrated products and services to drive optimized performance, efficiency and safety, ranging from advanced training to improved airspace efficiency and infrastructure, airline operations, flight planning, navigation and scheduling.

Source: Boeing
Photo: Rob Vogelaar