Boeing believes that demand for air travel in Latin America, mainly from Brazil and Mexico, will see the region buy 1,730 planes worth 120 billion US dollars over the next 20 years.
Plane travel in the region will grow on an annual basis of 6.6% over the two decades, second only to China's expected growth of 8.8% and above the world average of 5%, said Boeing during a presentation in Rio de Janeiro, in southeastern Brazil.
Boeing predicts that single-aisle jets, 90 seats, will make up about 80% of orders. Earlier this year, Boeing estimated the world's airlines would spend US$ 2.8 trillion on new aircraft by 2026. This figure included freight planes as well as passenger jets.
Latin America is seen as an attractive growth area for the aircraft industry because of the large distance between places, poor existing transportation links and an increasing number of people able to afford airfares.
New aircraft as well as existing planes and purchases of used planes will take the region's fleet size to 2,420 by 2026, Boeing said. But large jets, such as Boeing's 747 and Airbus's A380, will make up less than 1% of new deliveries, according to the projection.
Meantime in Britain, British Airways announced it had placed an order for 36 new aircraft – the largest the airline has made since 1998. These include 12 Airbus A380 super jumbos and 24 Boeing 787s, to be delivered between 2010 and 2014, an order which has a list price of US$ 8.2 billion.
The group also has options to buy seven more A380s as well as a further 18 Dreamliners from Boeing.
The new planes would be "greener, quieter and more fuel efficient" with much lower CO² emissions, British Airways announced. The new planes will replace 34 of British Airways' existing long-haul fleet. Both types of planes will be powered by Rolls-Royce engines, the airline said.
According to Boeing, these will be jets delivered in Latin America in the next 20 years:
80% single-aisle airplanes with 90 seats and above
12% twin-aisle airplanes with 200-400 seats
8% regional jets with less than 90 seats
1% or less will be 747-size or larger airplanes, able to carry more than 400 passengers
Worldwide, Boeing forecasts a US$ 2.8 trillion market in the two decades ahead for new commercial airplanes over the next 20 years. That would mean about 28,600 new commercial airplanes (passenger and freighter), doubling the world fleet by 2026.
Bzz/Mercopress