Airlines forecast to buy $3.5T of new jets by 2030
SINGAPORE—Global airlines will need $3.5 trillion of new planes through 2030, with more than a third of that demand coming from Asia, Airbus's chief executive said Wednesday.
The aviation industry will require 27,800 new planes, each with more than 100 seats, between 2010 and 2030 while Asia will likely take delivery of about 9,370 of those planes worth $1.3 trillion, CEO Tom Enders said.
"Our business isn't moving to the East, it has moved to the East," Enders said during a news conference at the Singapore Airshow. "We're focused on Asia because that's where most of our growth comes from."
Airbus is wrestling longtime rival Boeing for the burgeoning Asian market. Asia provided half of Airbus's 1,600 firm orders last year. Boeing scored its biggest deal ever in November when Indonesia's Lion Air agreed to buy 230 planes for $22 billion.
Asia is expected to account for 33 percent of global air passengers by 2030, up from a current 28 percent, according to Airbus. Europe will likely drop to 23 percent from 27 percent and the U.S. will fall to 20 percent from 27 percent, Airbus said.
France-based Airbus is the world's largest aircraft manufacturer. Chicago-based Boeing is the second-largest.
