The world’s airliner fleet has passed the 25,000 aircraft milestone this year, although fleet growth has slowed to just under 3%, from 5% 12 months ago. Flight International’s annual World Airliner Census, which is compiled by AvSoft using its ACAS database, reveals that the fleet of Western and Russian/CIS airliners totals 25,222 aircraft – 22,332 Western-built units and 2,890 Russian/CIS aircraft.
The 2.7% increase in the fleet recorded this year is in line with growth rates experienced before the most recent downturn following 9/11. The 5% growth in 2004 came after a couple of stagnant years in the aftermath of the attacks.
While the Western fleet has grown by over 3%, the decline in the Russian/CIS fleet continues. Last year it dipped below 3,000 aircraft for the first time, and this year there has been a further 2% erosion.
American dominance
In overall terms, the North/South America region continues to dominate, with almost 44% of the world fleet, with Europe second on 31.6%. However, the two leaders have seen a slight decline in their overall shares to the advantage of Asia, Australasia and Middle East, which together have made a one percentage point gain to 19.2%.
In terms of aircraft types, the Airbus A320 family continues to the most popular type with over 2,400 units in service. Second and third spots are held by two of the three 737 families, the -300/400/500 and the -600/-700/-800/-900 Next Generation models. However, if the three distinct 737 families are combined, they total a fleet of 4,200 aircraft.
The 737NG fleet showed the highest growth rate of any airliner this year, at 14%, and if it continues at this rate it should take second spot in 2006.
The regional aircraft fleet ranking has been static over the last year, with Bombardier’s CRJ100/200 remaining top and its Dash 8/Q Series being the most numerous turboprop type. While the two leading regional jet fleets have shown growth in the 9-10% region, the top two turboprop fleets have increased by little more than 2%.
The Western-built aircraft order backlog has surged by almost 20% to 3,270 as the civil aerospace industry’s new-found market confidence has manifested itself in airliner sales.
Significant increases
In overall terms, North/South America continues to be the single biggest market with 38% of the orders, although its tally has actually declined over the last 12 months from the 50% share it held last year. This is as a result of significant increases in the Europe and Asia, Australasia and Middle East sectors, with the latter now representing one-third of all orders.
Airbus continues to hold the lead in the mainline airliner order market, although it is Boeing that has seen the greater growth, with its backlog up 29% against the European rival’s 27%. Airbus has a lead in each region other than Africa.
Boeing also has the largest share of the undisclosed operator category, suggesting its customers are more reticent than its rival’s in revealing their identities.
The parked fleet has hovered around the 2,100-aircraft mark over the past year, representing around 11% of the total Western-built fleet. This is down one to two points from 2004, and many observers expect the tally to decline further as owners of the older parked aircraft decide to break them for spares.
Boeing still heads the manufacturer fleet ranking, although its share has dropped a point as its fleet growth was less than 1%. Airbus is inching towards the one-fifth share, having seen the largest fleet growth of any manufacturer last year, at over 10%. Bombardier has consolidated its third place in the rankings as its growth has nosed its share over the 10% mark for the first time. -
MAX KINGSLEY-JONES/LONDON
Source: Flight International
