CLEVELAND -- In this economy, it's rare to hear of a "job boom," but the airline industry is saying to get ready.
Demand for airline pilots is about to "take off."
After four years of limited openings for commercial airline pilots, the industry is on the brink of a job boom.
Aircraft maker Boeing is predicting a need for 466,650 more commercial airline pilots by the year 2029. That would mean an average of 23,300 new pilots every year.
Roughly 40 percent of the openings will be to meet the demand for flights to the Asia-Pacific region.
The reason?
For one, pilots are retiring.
"As far as the retirements are, most of the airlines are going to turn over at least half or two-thirds of their population over the next decade," says Tony Rohloff, part owner of Premier Flight Academy.
For the past few years, about a dozen students every three months come to train for their professional pilots license.
Now they'll be more likely to land not just a plane, but a job.
Retirement isn't the only reason there will be a demand for pilots. New changes are being proposed that would increase the time pilots must train, work and -- most importantly -- sleep.
Airlines are also predicting a surge of travelers as the economy improves.
WKYC-TV