Relax - Airlines need 33,500 new planes by 2030: Boeing

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SINGAPORE - Global airlines will need 33,500 new planes valued at US$4 trillion (S$5 trillion) in less than two decades, with Asia accounting for about 35 per cent of the total, US aircraft maker Boeing said on Monday.

Asia-Pacific carriers will require 11,450 new aircraft, worth US$1.5 trillion, by 2030, Boeing's vice president for commercial planes Randy Tinseth said at a news conference on the eve of the Singapore Airshow.

"This is the largest market in the world for single-aisle airplanes... for twin-aisle airplanes... for big airplanes. Any way you look at it, this is a big, big market, and this is a growth market," he said.

Tinseth, updating earlier Boeing estimates, said the biggest demand in the region will be for single-aisle aircraft that normally seat between 90 and 200 passengers -- the models most sought after in the budget-airline market.

Of the 33,500 new planes needed globally, about 60 per cent will be for fleet expansion, with the remainder replacing ageing stocks.

In the Asia-Pacific region, 80 per cent will be for fleet growth.

Boeing said the world's passenger fleet stood at 19,410 planes in 2010, and is projected to reach more than 39,500 by 2030.

To meet demand, Tinseth said Boeing will ramp up production of models including the next-generation single-aisle 737 MAX, which will undergo the final phase of wind-tunnel testing next week.

Boeing is also considering rolling out a bigger version of its mid-size 787 Dreamliner to be called the 787-10X that can seat up to 320 passengers, or 40 more than the 787-9 model.

Mark Jenks, vice president of development of the 787 programme, said on Sunday that Boeing aims to ramp up production of the long-delayed Dreamliner to 10 planes a month by the end of 2013, up from the current two or three.

Tinseth meanwhile said capital markets and leasing companies will likely play an increasingly bigger role in financing aircraft deliveries as funds from European banks ease due to the continent's debt crisis.

"I think over the long term... airlines will be looking at other sources to finance aircraft (deliveries)," he said.

Boeing and its European rival Airbus have a major presence at the biennial Singapore Airshow, which runs from February 14-19.

Airlines need 33,500 new planes by 2030: Boeing

AFP | Wed, Feb 15 2012

Asia will account for about 35 per cent of the total, says the aircraft maker.

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