The Asian region’s demand for new jets over the next 20 years will be nearly twice as great as North America’s demand, 16,050 new aircraft compared to 8,640 new aircraft. The new forecast is decidedly more optimistic than the 2016 CMO offered. Then, Boeing forecast demand for aircraft would rise 3.6% or $5.93 billion, through 2035.
Earlier this month, rival jet-builder Airbus issued a slightly less optimistic, 20-year forecast anticipating 4.4% growth for new-aircraft demand.
"Passenger traffic has been very strong so far this year, and we expect to see it grow 4.7 percent each year over the next two decades," stated Randy Tinseth, vice president of Marketing, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "The market is especially hungry for single-aisle airplanes, as more people start traveling by air."
Demand for single-aisle aircraft (e.g., Boeing’s 737 series) once again will see the greatest expansion over the forecast period, driven by demand from low-cost carriers and the need to serve emerging markets. Overall, Boeing sees global demand for 29,530 new single-aisle jets, almost 5% than it forecast in 2016.
The 20-year wide-body jet forecast calls for 9,130 new aircraft through 2036, notably to address a “large wave of potential replacement demand beginning early in the next decade,” according to Boeing. Its 787 and 777 series jets serve that segment of the market.
