Mexico has started to export pilots. It currently has around 7,000 unemployed but qualified airline pilots aged between 30 and 45. Around 400 of them have found work with foreign airlines, often in Asia. 

Mexico has around 10,000 trained and experienced pilots, but only about 3,000 of them work in the domestic market. Another 100 or so work for cargo carriers. Although low-cost carriers have started to set up in Mexico, the big demand for pilots is in the Middle East and Asia. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) believes that the Asian demand for pilots will continue for the forseeable future. Between 2005 and 2009 it expects civil aviation in Asia to grow by 9.5% a year: this will mean more jobs for pilots. 

Jorge Sunderland, the spokesman for the Asociación Sindical de Pilotos Aviadores, said at the beginning of September that the biggest hirers of Mexican pilots had been China Air and Singapore Airlines but that airlines from the UAE; Malaysia, Vietnam, Qatar, India and even Sri Lanka were catching up fast. India's demand for pilots is such that the aviation minister, Praful Patel, said that recently planes had to be left on the ground because there were not enough pilots. India has 2,500 pilots. Of these 400 are foreigners. The Asia-Pacific Aviation Center says that India needs at least 450 more qualified pilots.

Emirates Airways is probably the biggest foreign employer of Mexican pilots: 20 of its 100 pilots are Mexicans. Alfredo Velázquez, president of the Asociación Mexicana de Centros de Capitación y Formación, said that Mexican pilots are wanted for two things, principally: their experience of flying in mountainous areas which do not have radio beacons warning pilots of dangers and, secondly, their knowledge of US airports and airspace. Almost all Mexican pilots have US qualifications and international licences which makes them highly employable. 

Most Mexican pilots also have bags of experience: Asia airlines demand a minimum of 5,000 flying hours and 500 hours on a specific airliner. Most Mexicans have between 15,000 and 20,000 hours of flying time which includes between 2,000 and 8,000 hours on Airbus 320s, one of the Asian fleets' main workhorses. The big attraction for Mexican pilots is the pay in Asian airlines. In Mexico pilots expect to earn between M$70,000 and M$90,000 a month (between US$6,400 and US$8,250). In Asia the average pay is US$11,000 a month. 

Brazil
Over the past few years at least 114 Brazilian pilots have signed up with Chinese airlines. The prolonged crisis at the Brazilian national flag carrier, Varig, is the main reason. Brazilians are even moving in to management positions in Chinese Airlines: Armando Viriato Souza Freitas worked for 16 years at Varig before becoming, in 2003, the manager of Shenzhen Airlines's aviation department. He said a experienced Boeing 737 pilot in China earns US$8,750 a month. In Brazil, pilots get US$4,000 a month.