China to account for one in five new passenger aircraft orders by 2036, says Boeing

The Chinese airline industry will need more than a trillion dollars worth of new aeroplanes in the next two decades to service a booming middle-class, US aircraft manufacturer Boeing has estimated.

In a report released in Beijing on 6 September, Boeing said China would need 7,240 new aeroplanes at a cost of $1.1tn (£840bn) to keep up with demand by the year 2036.

The total number of aircraft is a 6.3% increase on Boeing's forecast last year.

"China's continuous economic growth, significant investment in infrastructure, growing middle-class and evolving airline business models support this long-term outlook," said Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing at Boeing.

"China's fleet size is expected to grow at a pace well above the world average, and almost 20 percent of global new airplane demand will be from airlines based in China."

Three-fourths of the total new deliveries are predicted to be single-aisle planes, with wide-body jetliners and regional jets accounting for the rest.

Boeing is China's leading provider of commercial passenger aircraft, while the country also has plans to build its own aeroplanes for the commercial jetliner industry.

One such domestically assembled aircraft is the 158-seat C919, which was assembled by the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China with some technology from Western partners.

The C919 undertook its maiden flight from Shanghai in May this year, but industry analysts do not expect China's domestic aircraft manufacturing ambitions to pose an immediate threat to the likes of Boeing and Airbus.

"China's outbound travel market continues its rapid growth toward 200 million passengers annually," Tinseth said.

"With new technologies, superior capabilities and advanced efficiency, the 787 and 777X families will play a key role in supporting the growth of China's long-haul market."

More than half of all commercial jetliners operating in China are Boeing aeroplanes.

The American aircraft manufacturer forecasts the global airline industry will need more than 41,000 new commercial planes over the next 20 years, valued at $6.1tn.