Boeing has again raised its forecast for new aircraft demand out of China, predicting a need for 7,240 aircraft over the next 20 years, accounting for 18% of the global total.
The figure compares to 6,810 aircraft from last year's estimate. This year's estimate is valued at $1.1 trillion.
The majority of the demand through to 2036 will be for 5,420 single-aisle jets. This is with full-service and low-cost carriers adding new narrowbodies and expanding on point-to-point services to cater for both leisure and business travels in China and throughout Asia, says Boeing.
For widebodies, the manufacturer is expecting a demand for 1,670 new aircraft. These comprise of 940 jets in the 200-300 seat segment, 550 jets with 300 and above seats, as well as 180 widebody freighters. It believes that primary demand for very large widebodies will be in the freighter market.
"China's continuous economic growth, significant investment in infrastructure, growing middle-class and evolving airline business models support this long-term outlook," says Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice-president of marketing Randy Tinseth.
"China's fleet size is expected to grow at a pace well above the world average, and almost 20% of global new airplane demand will be from airlines based in China."
Worldwide, Boeing is projecting the need for 41,030 new commercial aircraft over the next 20 years.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
