Middle East airline fleet set to more than double by 2028, says aircraft manufacturer Boeing – 17/11/09
Published: 17/11/09
Source: ©The Moodie Report
By Dermot Davitt
MIDDLE EAST. The Middle East airline fleet is set to more than double in the period from 2008 to 2028, according to manufacturer Boeing. The company’s Vice President Marketing Randy Tinseth was speaking at this week’s Dubai Air Show, where he revealed the latest forecasts for the Middle East region.
The region will require 1,710 new aircraft over the next 20 years, he said, at a value of US$300 billion. Of these, more than half would be ordered by airlines in the UAE (led by Emirates and Etihad). Taking into account aircraft that are taken out of service in the intervening period, this will leave the regional fleet at 1,860 planes, from 840 today.
He also forecast that the four leading carriers in the GCC states – Qatar Airways, Gulf Air, Etihad and Emirates – would grow their share of the world market over the next 20 years.
Currently, he said, these carriers hold a 20% market share for routes between Asia Pacific and Europe, but that will grow to 27% by 2028, he forecast.
Boeing based its predictions on a forecast +3.8% a year GDP growth rate for the region, with traffic growth of +6.6% a year.
Boeing also reassessed its prior year forecast for the global aircraft fleet to 2028. Last year, the company said the industry worldwide would require around 29,400 new aircraft by 2028. But in Dubai this week Boeing said that this figure now stood at 29,000, with a value of US$3.2 trillion.
Boeing also predicted that the airline industry would return to profitability by 2011, following successive years of losses.
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Boeing revises 20-year forecast in wake of ‘near-term realities’; remains upbeat – 14/06/09
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