Boeing Lifts Forecast for China’s New Plane Demand Over Next 20 Years
Xu Wei
DATE:  Sep 21 2023
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Boeing Lifts Forecast for China’s New Plane Demand Over Next 20 Years Boeing Lifts Forecast for China’s New Plane Demand Over Next 20 Years

(Yicai) Sept. 21 -- China will need 8,560 new commercial aircraft over the next two decades, US plane maker Boeing said, updating a prediction it made last year for 8,485, driven by economic growth far above the global average and an expansion of domestic air travel.

The number of commercial jets in China will more than double to nearly 9,600 in 2042, a market outlook report published on Boeing’s website said yesterday. As air travel recovers, the country will receive a fifth of new planes delivered globally over the next 20 years, it added.

China’s aviation market will become the world's largest around the end of the next two decades, driving demand for 6,470 single-aisle Boeing 737 Max aircraft, according to the Arlington-based company.

The recent growth of the Chinese market has been very strong, and the increase in passenger flow and airplane demand makes the market important in the long term, said Darren Hulst, marketing vice president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The challenge is how to produce more efficient aircraft to better meet the needs of the Chinese market, he noted.

China's in-service fleet may increase by about 2.4 times over the next two decades, Hulst added, while noting that the in-service fleet of wide-body aircraft may triple in size, and that of single-aisle jets could double.

The 737 Max planes flown by Chinese airlines have resumed operations, and the next step is to restart deliveries of the jet, Hulst pointed out. Boeing is working closely with relevant parties, and shipments will likely start again in the near future, he said, adding that the firm will support Chinese carriers, with regulators and users to decide when deliveries will resume.

737 Max planes were grounded around the world following two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia in October 2018 and March 2019, respectively. China’s aviation regulator was the first to ground the planes that March and none operated by a Chinese carrier flew again until January this year.

Editor: Martin Kadiev

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Keywords:   Boeing,Aircraft,Commercial Airplanes,Chinese Aviation Market,New Plane Demand