Alan Peaford/DUBAI
Passenger air travel in the Middle East will grow at a faster rate than Europe or North America according to Boeing Commercial Airplanes Group. This will mean a huge demand for new aircraft over the next 20 years. Boeing spokesman Mark Hooper, addressing a pre-show briefing, says the annual travel growth rate of 4.6% will lead to a requirement for 555 new aircraft up to 2018. Boeing has valued that market at US$49 billion.
For Boeing and its major competitor Airbus Industrie, the issue will be how that market will split up. "Since the demand for a 777 type aircraft will increase in the Middle Eastern countries, we see a key role for Boeing over the next 20 years," Hooper says.
Boeing's report on global market trends predicts that the demand for intermediate twin-aisle aircraft will grow from 18%t of the world fleet to 23% - and that is in a total market that Boeing expects to double from 12,600 aircraft today to more than 28,400 in 2018.
Response
The company also says that the market for 747 aircraft and larger will be reduce from eight to six per cent.
"I expect we will be asked a lot about what our response will be to the Airbus 3XX during this week," Hooper says. "Let me get this clear. We don't need a response. The 3XX is Airbus' response to our very successful 747. We already have an aircraft that meets all of the requirements."
Boeing believes that the emphasis will be on more regional city pairings. "We know passengers want to fly direct and not via regional hubs," Hooper says.
Boeing has a historical market dominance in the Middle East, having delivered 329 aircraft to Airbus' 114. However the firm has been challenged recently with airlines such as Qatar Airways opting for the European manufacturer for its growing fleet.
But Boeing remains confident. Emirates, EgyptAir, Kuwait Airways and Saudi Arabian Airlines have all ordered or had 777s delivered. Saudi is by far the biggest Middle Eastern customer with the 61 Boeing airplanes.
"We have been a market leader in this region for more than 50 years," Hooper says, "Our commitment to Dubai 2000 - which I reckon is the world's best airshow - reflects our intention of maintaining that leadership position and creating superior value for our customers in the Middle East."
Source: Flight Daily News
