More and bigger planes, predicts Airbus

European aircraft-maker Airbus predicted that the global market would grow at an average 4.5% a year to 33,000 new planes by 2035.
In its report published at the Farnborough Airshow in the UK, the Toulouse-based pan-European company added that the estimated $5trn order book would include 645 freighters with capacity of over 10 tonnes.
In figures that closely echoed those of its rival Boeing published on the same day, Airbus predicted that the world fleet would more than double from 19,500 aircraft to almost 40,000. At the same time, the quest for greater fuel efficiency would also drive aircraft replacement.
Boeing predicted that the global fleet would grow 4.1% a year over the next 20 years to 39,620 aircraft and put the total value of the order book at $5.9trn.
Unlike Boeing, however, Airbus – which makes the world’s passenger jet, the A380 – sees increasing demand for larger wide body passenger planes. It says that larger aircraft make the most efficient use of limited airport slots.
Economic growth, urbanisation and increased affluence in Asia would be among the main factors, leading to the proportion of regular air travellers tripling from 25% to 75%. Even in developed markets like Europe or North America, the market would still increase by around 3.7% a year, Airbus predicted.