Following a gloomy year of falling air traffic demand and roiled financial markets, Boeing Co. raised its 20-year industry forecast for new commercial aircraft on Thursday to reflect the recovering global economy.
By 2029, the Chicago-based manufacturer (BA 64.21, -0.54, -0.83 percent) predicted the global fleet would expand some 64 percent to 30,900 aircraft from 18,890 today, a $3.6 trillion opportunity for the builders of passenger and cargo jetliners.
That’s up from the past year’s industry forecast of 29,000 at $3.2 trillion when global air traffic was projected to fall 4 percent for the year.
Driving the growth will be new opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly for single-aisle jets, according to Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
“Demand for single-aisle aircraft, such as the 737 and the A320, has been much stronger than expected,” said Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “We significantly underestimated the demand for the period.”
Full story: Global airline fleet to expand 64% by 2029: Boeing – MarketWatch