By Tom Arnold www.thenational.ae
Airlines in the Middle East will need 2,610 new airplanes over the next 20 years, worth an estimated US$550 billion, Boeing forecasts.
A third of that figure – 900 aircraft – will replace the existing fleet, with 66 per cent coming from rapid expansion in new fleet.
“Today we sit in one of the most dynamic and fastest growing market places in the world,” said Randy Tinseth, the vice president of marketing at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, in Dubai yesterday. “We see strong demand for new, fuel-efficient aircraft, especially fuel-efficient wide bodies.”
This year’s Boeing Current Market Outlook, an annual report, is more optimistic than last year’s 20-year forecast of 2,370 airplanes for the region at a cost of $470bn.
It reflects the growing clout of the GCC’s biggest airlines – Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways – as well as the rising popularity of the region’s low-cost carriers. More info
