DUBAI, 22 November 2005 — Airlines in the Middle East will need about 900 new aircraft and the region will invest $115 billion in new aircraft, according to a top official of the Boeing Company. Air travel in the region is expected to grow above the world average at 5.5 percent annually over the next 20 years, according to reports in the UAE’s dailies.
Eighty-five percent of all new aircraft delivered to Middle East airlines will be between 100 and 400 seats, Boeing Company Vice- President of Marketing Randy Baseler said. He was making a presentation on the market overview at the ongoing Dubai airshow.
In the US aircraft maker’s projections for the global and regional aviation industry, the Boeing executive pointed out that despite international strife and regional tensions, traffic has continued to grow in recent years for the region’s air carriers. “Long-term prospects will be helped by forecasts for growth in population and assumptions that oil prices will remain at long-term sustainable levels,” Baseler said. The study said several airlines will follow independent global connectivity business models in order to tap into long-haul markets from hubs in the Gulf States, especially to the Asia-Pacific region and North America. This strategy will support sizable numbers of twin-aisle airplanes. Short-haul flights within the region and to Europe will drive the demand for single-aisle airplanes. A smaller number of 747 and larger size airplanes will be needed for some of the more dense hub-to-hub routes. The 2005 Boeing forecast is for world air traffic to grow at 4.8 percent annually over the next 20 years.