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Boeing's Darren Hulst presents the manufacturer's Middle East fleet forecast at Dubai Airshow.
DUBAI—As air traffic continues to grow faster in the Middle East than the global average, Boeing forecasts that the region will require 1,370 new widebodies over the next 20 years, split roughly evenly between its 787 and 777X family size categories.
“The fleet in the Middle East will more than double in size, but the number of new deliveries required is nearly 3,000 aircraft,” says Darren Hulst, vice president of Boeing's Commercial Marketing division. “What's unique about this is that many of these jets will be widebody aircraft.”
While representing a significant portion of the more than 7,800 new widebody aircraft Boeing predicts will be required by the world’s airlines by 2045, the Middle East’s capacity needs mean that a bigger proportion of its share will likely be made up of the 390 seat-plus market segment.
“Because of the connectivity that exists in this region, because of the scale of an airline like Emirates and Qatar, the 787-777 size split is probably close to 50:50, whereas if we look globally, my view, is that about 75% of global widebody demand is probably in the 787, category,” Hulst says.
Boeing’s updated regional forecast comes as Dubai-based Emirates calls on both Airbus and Boeing to study stretched, higher passenger capacity versions of the A350-1000 and 777-9 respectively.
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