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Boeing forecasts demand for 4,500 new aircraft in Southeast Asia
February 14th 2020
Boeing has predicted the airlines of Southeast Asia will require some 4,500 new aircraft in the next two decades to support growing demand for air travel, particularly in markets such as Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. Read More »
The forecast was unveiled at the Singapore Airshow this week where Boeing’s vice president of commercial marketing, Randy Tinseth, said Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam were among the top 10 markets to have added the largest amount of airline seat capacity since 2010.
"Vietnam has experienced the strongest growth out of the three at nearly 15 per cent per year, followed by Thailand and Indonesia at approximately 10 per cent, respectively,” Tinseth said.
"With an expanding middle-class, in a market that continues to liberalise, coupled with a strong domestic, regional and international tourism sector, Southeast Asia has become one of the world’s largest aviation markets."
Boeing said wide-body aircraft would be 19% of new commercial aircraft deliveries in the region in the next 20 years, representing some 855 aircraft. About 3,654 aircraft deliveries would be for narrow-bodies.
The aerospace company forecast demand for 182,000 commercial pilots, cabin crew and aviation technicians in Southeast Asia to meet the expected growth in the sector in the same two decades.
This projected demand is based on a mix of new airplane deliveries, annual aircraft utilisation rates, crewing requirements by region and regulatory requirements, Boeing said.
Boeing also forecast the commercial aviation services market in Southeast Asia to be worth US$785 billion to 2038.
In 2017, Boeing brought together the company’s previously separate aerospace and defence services in supply chain management, engineering, modifications and maintenance, digital analytics and training into the one business unit, Boeing Global Services.
At the time, then Boeing chief executive, Dennis Muilenburg, hoped Boeing Global Services, which is one of three businesses alongside its Commercial Airplanes and Defence, Space and Security divisions, would achieve annual revenues of US$50 billion within 10 years.
While it is still some way off that goal, with current annual revenues reaching US$18.5 billion, Boeing Global Services chief executive, Ted Colbert, told FlightGlobal on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow this week the business was "absolutely key to the stability and growth of the company".
Separately, at the Boeing Media reception held during show week, popular and highly respected Tinseth informally confirmed to guests that he was to retire. As head of Boeing’s commercial market forecast unit for more than 15 years, he has seen his team expand from three to 300. His successor, whom he ringingly endorsed but declined to name, would be announced soon, he said.
