The global commercial fleet will surpass 49,000 airplanes by 2040, with China, Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific countries each accounting for about 20 per cent of new airplane deliveries
Boeing has released its annual forecast for the commercial, defense and space aerospace market, reflecting signs of the industry’s recovery following the impacts of COVID-19. The 2021 Boeing Market Outlook (BMO) – Boeing’s analysis of long-term market dynamics – states that commercial airplanes and services are showing signs of recovery, while the global defense, space and government services markets have remained stable.
“As our industry recovers and continues to adapt to meet new global needs, we remain confident in long-term growth for aerospace,” said Boeing Chief Strategy Officer Marc Allen.
Allen added, “We are encouraged by the fact that scientists have delivered vaccines more rapidly than imaginable and that passengers are demonstrating strong confidence in airplane travel.”
The new Commercial Market Outlook (CMO) reflects that the global market is recovering largely as Boeing projected in 2020. Within the Boeing Market Outlook, the CMO projects 10-year global demand for 19,000 commercial airplanes valued at $3.2 trillion. Boeing’s 20-year commercial forecast through 2040 projects demand for more than 43,500 new airplanes valued at $7.2 trillion, an increase of about 500 planes over last year’s forecast.
“The aerospace industry has made important progress in the recovery, and Boeing’s 2021 forecast reflects our confidence in the resilience of the market,” said Stan Deal, president and CEO, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Deal added,”While we remain realistic about ongoing challenges, the past year has shown that passenger traffic rebounds swiftly when the flying public and governments have confidence in health and safety during air travel. Our industry continues to serve an essential role of bringing people together and transporting critical supplies.”
The global commercial fleet will surpass 49,000 airplanes by 2040, with China, Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific countries each accounting for about 20 per cent of new airplane deliveries, and the remaining 20 per cent going to other emerging markets.
Carriers will need more than 7,500 new widebody airplanes by 2040 to support fleet renewal and long-term passenger and air cargo demand growth in longer-haul markets. These projections are up slightly compared to 2020 but remain down eight per cent from 2019.
Defense and Space Market Outlook
The BMO also projects the defense and space market opportunity will remain consistent with last year’s forecast at $2.6 trillion during the next decade. These large, stable markets have enduring demand driven by geopolitical and security challenges. This spending projection continues to reflect the ongoing importance of military aircraft, autonomous systems, satellites, spacecraft and other products for national and international defense, with 40 percent of expenditures expected to originate outside of the United States.
“While we’ve seen resiliency and stability in the global defense and space market, the threat environment continues to evolve,” said Leanne Caret, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security.
Caret adds, “Winning the future fight will require speed and flexibility, and Boeing is committed to designing, testing, building and sustaining in a way that will enable our customers to adapt at the speed of relevance and derive the most value from our platforms for decades to come. Our mission – which is grounded in safety, quality and integrity – is to deliver the most digitally advanced, simply and efficiently produced solutions that are intelligently supported to our global customers.”
