China’s commercial airline fleet will more than double to over 9,800 aircraft over the next 20 years, Boeing said in Beijing on Tuesday as it released its 2026 China Commercial Market Outlook.

The US manufacturer forecast that China will need 9,240 new aircraft between 2026 and 2045. China now has the world’s second largest commercial jet fleet by country, with nearly 4,500 aircraft, according to Boeing. It said 42 percent of the new deliveries will replace older aircraft and the rest will support growth.

Boeing expects passenger air travel in China to grow 5 percent a year, driven by an expanding middle class, more visa-free travel destinations and continued investment in aviation infrastructure. It said China’s domestic market is on track to become the world’s largest by 2045.

Darren Hulst, Boeing’s Vice President of Commercial Marketing, said the outlook shows strong demand for new aircraft as China’s passenger traffic grows faster than traffic worldwide. He said that with a partnership of nearly 55 years, “Boeing jets are the backbone of China’s civil aviation industry growth”.

Single-aisle aircraft account for the largest share of the forecast. Boeing said Chinese airlines will take delivery of more than 7,200 single-aisle aircraft, about 78 percent of the total, to serve domestic and Asia-Pacific routes. Its table lists 405 regional aircraft, 7,215 single-aisle aircraft, 1,460 widebody aircraft and 160 freighters.

Long-haul traffic between China and Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East is expected to grow faster than the regional average, creating demand for more than 1,400 widebody aircraft, the company said. It also forecast demand for 560 production and converted freighters by 2045, driven by China’s manufacturing base and e-commerce market.

Boeing also projected that Chinese airlines will invest 875 billion dollars over 20 years in digital services, maintenance and staff training, and that the sector will need 425,000 new pilots, technicians and cabin crew.

Boeing said it has operated in China for more than 50 years and that its work there, including suppliers, joint ventures, training and research, generates more than 1 billion dollars in direct economic impact.

Source: PR