Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and members of the committee.
My name is John McKenna. I'm the president and chief executive officer of the Air Transport Association of Canada. I'm accompanied today by Mr. Les Aalders, who is executive vice-president, and by Mr. Wayne Gouveia, vice-president of general commercial aviation.
The Air Transport Association of Canada has represented Canada's commercial air transport industry for over 80 years. ATAC has 185 members engaged in commercial aviation, operating in every region of Canada, and providing service to a large majority of the more than 600 airports in the country.
Our members include large airlines, regional airlines, commuter operators, air taxis, aviation education organizations, and flight schools. Our membership also includes the air industry support sector involved in all activities of the aviation support industry. We refer to them as industry partners.
ATAC's vision is to promote safe and reliable air transportation of people and goods to the benefit of Canadian society with the mission statement “to support our members in their commitment to a safe, world-leading and sustainable Canadian air transport industry.”
We appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today to address the important aspects of our industry that you are looking into. The Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development's global opportunities for associations program in its current and previous formats has supported ATAC international business development strategy outreach to the international aviation community for more than 10 years.
The goal of the ATAC GOA project is to benefit the Canadian economy by developing pathways for small and medium-sized aviation companies to connect to foreign markets. More specifically, we seek to export Canadian flight training, and maintenance, repair and overhaul—or MRO—services to growing markets worldwide.
Through GOA, ATAC is able to identify key world market opportunities, help our member companies identify the demand, and respond with partnerships to foreign supply chains seeking Canadian goods and services. With the help of the Government of Canada we identify and implement solutions that help smaller Canadian pilot training companies and MROs to respond to the many opportunities in the global marketplace.
ATAC, through the GOA program, supports the memorandum of understanding on further collaboration in civil aviation signed between Canada and the People's Republic of China on November 8, 2014 in the following aviation sectors: aviation training services and equipment; MRO technical support; supply chain infrastructure and management, technical and personnel training, aviation and the environment; and civil aviation policies.
Flight training is an important component of commercial aviation in Canada. ATAC member flying schools represent approximately 80% of the commercial flight training done in Canada and are present all across the country. Canadian flying schools have a full range of capabilities to train pilots from ab initio to multi-crew pilot training. Our safety record is one of the best in the world, and our piloting and decision-making skills are second to none.
Canadian flight training companies have the ability to deliver airline cadet training and address the new requirements for general aviation training demanded by China for future regional airlines, on-demand charter companies, and business aviation.
Canada has a robust regulatory framework with oversight from Transport Canada as well as compliance with ICAO world standards and recommended practices and is highly regarded as one of the best in the world for pilot training by international airlines.
In addition, student pilots are exposed to the number one air navigation system in the world and are able to fly instrument approaches in real-world scenarios.
ATAC's international business development efforts are focused on promoting and building bridges between Canadian professional pilot training organizations and foreign air operators, civil aviation authorities and foreign students in Asia, India, Latin America and Europe.
In the next 20 years, half of the world's air traffic growth will be driven by travel to, from or within the Asia Pacific region, with a growth rate of 7.1% per year.
The current capital upgrades in simulators and aircraft in Canadian flight schools are largely attributed to the importance of training international student pilots, who now represent close to 39% of all commercial licences issued in Canada. On our last mission to China in the fall of 2014, we signed an MOU with the Shenzhen Aviation Transportation Association, which is already yielding results for our members. However, we need to better market and promote our exemplary reputation in safety and flight training to the international community.
The Airbus global market forecast for the next 20 years says that China's aircraft demand, valued at $820 billion, will represent 17% of the worldwide demand for new aircraft. There are currently 35,500 pilot licences in China, and this number is growing at an annual rate of 13.5%. According to Boeing, Asia-Pacific airlines will need 33,000 new airplanes in the next 20 years. This will amount to nearly triple the current number of airplanes. The pilot outlook demand will be as dramatic, with 216,000 new pilots needed for the Asia-Pacific region. This represents 40% of the 533,000 new pilots needed globally over the next 20 years. More than half the pilots in China obtained professional pilot training internationally.
The United Kingdom is another promising market for Canadian pilot training companies as low-cost carriers continue to grow in the U.K., adding more capacity to the system. The Canadian advantage in pilot training is based on very competitive costs for delivering competency-based training that is recognized as being in the top three worldwide.
As for the maintenance, repair and overhaul sector, in 2014 this market represented an estimated $6 billion of business in Canada and supported over 25,000 jobs covering both the civil and defence sectors. The ATAC international outreach plan involves developing primarily civil MRO business opportunities for Canadian companies within the U.S., South America, Central America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific regions by actively participating in MRO international conferences and trade shows.
Key advantages of the Canadian MROs are highly trained and competent personnel, a world-recognized aircraft maintenance engineer licence system, state-of-the-art facilities, capacity for all sizes and types of aircraft, and both specialized and full-service MRO firms capable of meeting the full range of customers' MRO needs.
In the global aviation industry, harmonized regulations are an enabler for Canadian MRO companies to efficiently service foreign registered aircraft and their components.
The largest market for Canadian MRO companies in the western hemisphere has had until recently a primary focus on the U.S. However, many new opportunities now exist in Central and South America in supporting the explosive forecasted growth by aviation in Latin America. Beyond the western hemisphere, the two areas of most interest and important growth accessible to Canadian MROs are the European and Asia-Pacific aviation communities. These markets have been identified by ATAC as the target markets for the 2015-16 GOA resources.
ATAC considers the international development programs offered by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development key to our success in international markets.
Thank you. We'd be happy to answer any of your questions.