SHANGHAI, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- China's aircraft fleet will more than triple in size by 2030, as a result of the country's fast economic growth, growing trade activity and increasing personal wealth, U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing said Thursday.
China will need 5,000 new commercial airplanes worth at 600 billion U.S. dollars over the next 20 years, Boeing said in a report issued in Shanghai, which features the company's outlook for China's commercial airplane market through 2030.
"We expect China will be the second largest country taking new commercial airplane deliveries due to its air travel demand growing at an annual rate of 7.6 percent on average," said Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing at Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Boeing forecasts that small and intermediate twin-aisles, such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777, will be a significant part of these deliveries, and they are expected to constitute over 40 percent of the market in value, with some 1,040 deliveries anticipated.
"Major Chinese airlines, taking advantage of their membership in the major airline alliances, will gradually shift their focus from domestic to international markets to become competitive global players," Tinseth said.
Single-aisle airplanes are expected to increase to 3,550 in the next 20 years, due to fast development of the domestic market, he said.
Meanwhile, with China's cargo markets leading the global industry, Chinese air carriers will add about 400 freighter planes by 2030, he said.
Worldwide, Boeing projects investments of 4 trillion dollars for 33,500 new commercial airplanes to be delivered during the next 20 years.
Last year, Boeing projected that China would spend 480 billion dollars on 4,330 planes by 2030.
The company made the new forecast after taking all factors affecting aviation into consideration, including high-speed railways.
Tinseth said high-speed rails will affect about 2 percent of China's domestic revenue passenger kilometers, and it may also boost the country's economic development, which will benefit aviation.
Air passenger travel increased 16.1 percent year-on-year in 2010 and the average annual growth was 14.1 percent during the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-2010), according to data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
