Aircraft orders to hit $3.2trn by 2027, says Boeing

US aerospace giant Boeing forecast yesterday a global marketplace for new aircraft worth $3.2 trillion (Dh11.75trn) over the next two decades, with China overtaking North America by 2027.

The world's airlines and freight companies will need about 29,400 new aircraft over the next 20 years, including orders placed since the start of 2008, Boeing said in its Current Market Outlook for 2008.

The company had forecast last year that the global market would be worth $2.8trn up to 2026, with new orders totalling 28,600 aircraft.

"The Chinese market today is very small but 20 years from now it will be bigger than today's North American market," said Randy Tinseth, vice-president of marketing, unveiling Boeing's outlook.

"We're seeing a very dynamic and challenging situation today in the commercial aviation industry," he said.

"In the past, we've faced many other challenges, recessions and oil crises, and what we have learned is that we are in a very resilient industry."

Boeing's latest forecasts are based on global economic growth of 3.2 per cent annually throughout the forecast period, with passenger traffic rising five per cent and cargo 5.8 per cent per year.