Gregory Polek has spent his entire career in aviation journalism with AIN, starting as a proofreader and assistant to then-managing editor Mary Mahoney in 1995 after serving an internship with&nbsp;New Jersey Monthly&nbsp;magazine and completing his B.A. degree in English/Writing at New Jersey’s William Paterson College. By 1997 Polek accepted a position as an associate editor, covering the regional airline beat for&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;in place of retiring industry veteran Don Anderson. The assignment took Polek across North America and Europe to profile regional airlines varying in size and mission from the likes of floatplane operators Kenmore Air and Chalk’s Ocean Airways to regional jet operators such as SkyWest and American Eagle. Today, in his dual role as Air Transport Editor and International Airshow Editor, Polek writes, edits, and manages AIN’s commercial aviation content while overseeing each of the company’s daily international air show publications in Paris, Farnborough, Singapore, and Dubai. Most recently Polek has assumed oversight of daily coverage of the Helicopter Association International’s annual Heli-Expo convention.

Senior Editor

Gregory Polek

Boeing’s 2014 commercial pilot and mechanic demand forecast, released today, reflects a 7-percent increase in pilot demand over last year’s projections and a 5-percent increase in the outlook for mechanics. In all, the world’s aviation system will require 533,000 new commercial airlines pilots and 584,000 new commercial airline mechanics over the next 20 years, according to Boeing. 
 
	“The challenge of meeting the global demand for airline professionals cannot be solved by one company or in one region of the world,” said Boeing Flight Services vice president Sherry Carbary. “This is a global issue that can be solved only by all of the parties involved—airlines, aircraft and training equipment manufacturers, training delivery organizations, regulatory agencies and educational institutions around the world.” 
 
	According to this year’s outlook, pilot demand in the Asia Pacific region now comprises 41 percent of the world’s need, and the Middle East region saw significant growth since last year’s outlook due to increased airline capacity and orders for widebody models. Overall, global demand driven by steadily increasing airplane deliveries, particularly widebody airplanes, suggests a global requirement for about 27,000 new pilots and 29,000 new technicians annually. 
 
	Projected demand for new pilots and maintenance technicians by region breaks down as follows: Asia Pacific–216,000 pilots and 224,000 technicians; Europe–94,000 pilots and 102,000 technicians; North America–88,000 pilots and 109,000 technicians; Latin America–45,000 pilots and 44,000 technicians; Middle East–55,000 pilots and 62,000 technicians; Africa–17,000 pilots and 19,000 technicians and Russia and CIS–18,000 pilots and 24,000 technicians.


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Boeing Sees Increasing Demand for Pilots, Mechanics

Global demand for pilots to reach 533,000 over next 20 years.

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