SHANGHAI: China will remain the largest commercial aircraft market outside the United States over the next two decades, with its fleet set to more than triple by 2025, Boeing said yesterday.

The country will need nearly 2,900 new jets worth US$280 billion during that period, accounting for one-third of the Asia-Pacific market demand, according to Boeing's 2006 Current Market Outlook issued yesterday.

Single-aisle airplanes, such as the B737 and A320 family jets, will be the largest category, said the US aircraft maker.

Around 1,840 new single-aisle airplanes are expected to be delivered to China during those years, accounting for 63 per cent of the total.

"China's domestic frequencies have increased more than 13-fold since 1990 while airplane sizes have remained about the same," said Randy Baseler, Boeing Commercial Airplanes' vice-president for marketing.

China's domestic air travel market is expected to witness average annual growth of around 9 per cent over the next two decades, according to Boeing. That is faster than the 6 per cent average growth for China-Europe routes and the 6.5 per cent growth for China-North America routes.

"Boeing believes the current trend of more frequency and non-stop flights will continue to accommodate this growth through a focus on single-aisle airplanes," Baseler said.

The Boeing B737 and Airbus A320 are the two aircraft manufacturers' best-selling models in China. The B737 family jets account for about 70 per cent of Boeing's total fleet in operation in China, while the A320s make up 60 per cent of the Airbus fleet in the country.

1

2

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)