Big market: Air China aircraft are seen at Beijing Capital Airport. With the ongoing recovery in air travel, China will account for one-fifth of the world’s aeroplane deliveries in the next two decades. — AFP
BEIJING: China’s domestic aviation market will surpass those in North America and Europe to become the world’s largest by 2042, driven by strong demand for commercial air travel and an expected doubling of the country’s fleet size, US aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co has said.
Through 2042, China will need 8,560 new commercial aeroplanes, including 6,470 single-aisle ones, fuelled by its economic growth well above the global average and an increasing demand for domestic air travel, according to Boeing’s latest Commercial Market Outlook.
Over the next 20 years, China’s commercial airliner fleet will more than double to nearly 9,600 jets.
With the ongoing recovery in air travel, China will account for one-fifth of the world’s aeroplane deliveries in the next two decades, Boeing said in Beijing.
“Domestic air traffic in China has already surpassed the pre-Covid levels and its international traffic is recovering steadily.
“China’s resumption of international flights is led by the regional market in Asia,” said Darren Hulst, vice-president of commercial marketing at Boeing.
“We have seen the resilience in the Chinese market, especially when looking at what happened in the past eight or nine months,” Hulst, who visited China for the first time since the pandemic, said.
As China’s economy and traffic continue to grow, Boeing’s complete lineup of commercial jets would play a key role in helping meet that growth sustainably and economically, he added.
Along with demand for single-aisle jets, Chinese carriers will require 1,550 wide-body aeroplanes mainly to support a growing network of international routes. — China Daily/ANN
