Sept. 23 - The European aviation consortium Airbus Industrie has released their latest Global Market Forecast that predicts that emerging Asia will top world demand followed by Europe and North America in the next 20 years. 
In total, Airbus estimates that demand will be around 25,000 new passenger and freighter aircraft amounting to US$3.1 trillion from 2009 to 2028. Airbus’ attributes the demand to evolving airline networks, expansion of low cost carriers and the increasing number of mega-cities as well as traffic growth and the replacement of older less efficient aircraft with more eco-efficient airliners are factors driving demand for new aircraft.
The forecast says that demand for passenger aircraft will come from airlines in Asia-Pacific and emerging markets specifically China and India will account for 31 percent of the total, followed by Europe at 25 percent and North America at 23 percent.
“Air transportation is a growth industry, and an essential ingredient in the world economy,” says Airbus Chief Operating Officer Customers John Leahy in a statement. “Technology and innovation are key drivers for an eco-efficient aviation sector, and Airbus is at the forefront of both.”
As for domestic passenger markets, Airbus predicts that India at 10 percent and China at 7.9 percent will have the fastest growth over the next 20 years although the largest by volume in terms of traffic will still be the United States. The company says that there will increased demand for Very Large Aircraft (VLA) with more than 50 percent of the world’s VLA’s to be operated by airlines in the Asia Pacific region.
