Boeing raises 20-year forecast for Chinese aircraft demand despite pandemic

Boeing Co on Thursday raised its slippery forecast for China’s aircraft demand for the next 20 years, making the country a bright spot in the aviation market even as COVID-19 decimates global deliveries over the next few years. years.

Chinese airlines will need 8,600 new planes through 2039, 6.3% more than Boeing’s previous forecast of 8,090 planes last year. These would be worth $ 1.4 trillion based on list prices, the U.S. aircraft maker said in a statement.

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In October, Boeing cut its 20-year forecast for global aircraft demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“While COVID-19 has severely affected all passenger markets around the world, China’s fundamental growth engines remain resilient and robust,” said Richard Wynne, managing director, China Marketing, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

“Not only has China’s recovery from COVID-19 overtaken the rest of the world, but the government’s continued investments to improve and expand its transport infrastructure, significant regional traffic flows and a thriving domestic market mean this region of the world will prosper. “

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China’s domestic aviation market has rebounded to pre-COVID levels, but as international travel effectively remains closed, Chinese airlines have pushed back deliveries.

Boeing and its European rival, Airbus SE, are scrambling to increase their market share in China, but they are also facing increasing competition from the state-owned aircraft manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC).

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COMAC has regularly supplied its regional ARJ21 to customers throughout the pandemic and its narrow-body C919, which is still in the flight test phase, is expected to obtain an airworthiness certificate from the Chinese aviation regulator next year.

The regulator has refused to set a timetable for the return of the Boeing 737 MAX to the ground, although the United States is expected to approve its return to the air as early as next week.

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Boeing has projected a need for 6,450 new single-aisle jets over the next 20 years, while China’s widebody fleet will require 1,590 new jets, or 18% of total deliveries, which are down from a year ago. one year due to the anticipation of a slower recovery in global long-haul traffic.

(Reporting by Stella Qiu in Beijing and Jamie Freed in Sydney; Editing by Kim Coghill & Simon Cameron-Moore)