I dont know about the Twin Pioneers but certainly the single engined variety were shipped to the Far East by sea.
A few years ago I had a shop selling militaria which was a magnet for ex military types.
One day I had a very interesting chat with a chap who had delivered a Pioneer (single I think) to Singapore, by air. The flight consisted of 2 or 3 Pioneers and a Piston Provost or two which were heading for Pakistan. I don't remember the route in detail but range limitations and political considerations dictated a very circuitous route, which went South to North Africa, skirting the Sahara and crossing to the East Coast, then along the coast for a short sea hop over to Aden. Then up the coast to the Gulf, over to Pakistan where the Provosts were dropped off, and then across India and eventually down Malaya to Singapore. I have no idea how many flying hours were involved, but I seem to recall the whole flight took around 35 days, including rest stops, etc. Not much quicker than the ones which went by sea, I should think!
What an adventure, but I suspect probably something enjoyed more in retrospect than at the time!
I had a flight in a single Pioneer of 209 Squadron from Seletar to an up country strip in Malaya. To demonstrate the low speed capabilities of the aircraft the pilot put down both full flap and the leading edge flaps, which made the cabin interior quite dark! We followed the path of a main road at about 1,000' at around 30 knots, watching the cars below overtaking us. I think the stalling speed with everything down was 19 knots, but I stand to be corrected on that.