Boeing may be looking at the long-term possibility of pilotless planes but the job prospects for aviators over the next two decades have been boosted by the US aerospace giant’s latest forecast.

The plane maker’s latest pilot outlook forecasts that the commercial aviation industry will need 637,000 new airline pilots between 2017 and 2036.

That’s up 3.2 per cent on its 2016 outlook as airline boost fleets and flight schedules to meet growing demand.

The biggest demand will be in the Asia-Pacific, where the commercial transport sector will require 253,000 new pilots, followed by North America (117,000 new pilots), Europe (106,000), the Middle East (63,000) and Latin America (52,000).

Africa is forecast to require 24,000 pilots and Russia/CIS  will need 22,000.  

Boeing said the airline industry was addressing the need for pilots. It noted that regional markets that had relied heavily on recruiting pilots from outside their home locations were increasingly looking recruiting, training and developing pilots from local sources.

“New market opportunities are creating an increased demand for qualified, skilled, and experienced pilot,’’ it said.

At the back of the plane, Boeing predicts a global need for 839,000 new flight attendants with the Asia-Pacific Pacific again leading the pack.

But it has pared back its growth forecast for airline technicians by 4.6 per cent fewer because of the reduced maintenance needed for modern planes such as B737 MAX.

That still means there will be 648,000 jobs for commercial airline maintenance technicians around the world.

Boeing announced at the Paris Air Show that it would test pilotless aircraft technology in a simulator this year and intended to fly it on an aircraft next year.

However, it admitted the technology was still a long way from convincing regulators and, more importantly, passengers that pilotless aircraft would be safe.

Read: Boeing to test pilotless planes.