Randy Tinseth, Boeing’s vice president of marketing, predicts “tremendous growth” in Middle East aviation over the next 20 years.
Speaking at Boeing’s traditional market forecast presentation, Tinseth said the region had been the fastest growing in the world over the last five years in terms of revenue, traffic, passengers and cargo, and that was set to continue.
“Airlines in this region are going to need 1,160 new aircraft over the next 20 years with a value of $190 billion,” Tinseth adds. “And we predict the biggest growth area will be in the twin aisle market – accounting for 52% of all sales.”
“The Middle East has a strong economy, a booming tourist industry and is leveraging its geographical position,” he says. “Dubai is just a one-stop service to anywhere in the world – from north-east Asia to Latin America, and from Oceania to London.
“The Boeing 777-200LR is opening up new routes between Dubai and South America. But Dubai to Los Angeles, Auckland, Buenos Aires and Honolulu are also all possible with this aircraft.”
Tinseth predicts that while the worldwide economy will grow by 3.1% per year, the Middle East’s GDP will expand by 4%. He thinks the region will see a 4.5% increase in the number of passengers, a 5% growth in air freight and a 6.1% increase in cargo year on year.
But will the weak dollar and high oil prices hurt Boeing? “The plus side of high-fuel costs is that they help airlines make replacement decisions more easily,” he says. “Let’s just say that I don’t think the weak dollar is helping us, but it is definitely hurting our competitors.”
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Source: Flight Daily News
