Boeing expects aircraft deliveries to increase

U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing raised its annual 20-year forecast for new jet deliveries by 3 percent to 43,975, a move it said was due to strong demand for passenger aircraft, increasing competition among airlines and the eventual replacement of older, less efficient planes.

The aviation industry has been hit hard by the pandemic, with air travel plummeting before quickly recovering. That has left many companies scrambling to address labor and parts shortages and other supply chain issues. Manufacturers like Boeing and Airbus are struggling to keep up with the surge in demand, and airlines are waiting years for new planes.

Boeing, updating its forecast ahead of the Farnborough Air Show outside London that starts Monday, said airlines will need increasing numbers of planes through 2043.

Darren Hulst, Boeing’s vice president of commercial marketing, said retirement rates of older aircraft have fallen by half over the past four years “because there are too few planes coming to market.”

He said this issue will be addressed in the medium to long term as supply constraints ease.

Boeing says single-aisle aircraft will account for 33,380 deliveries, or 76 percent of forecast demand. Deliveries from now through 2043 are also expected to include 8,065 widebody aircraft, 1,525 regional jets and 1,005 freighters.

Boeing predicts that about half of the new jets will replace older models, while the other half will expand airline fleets.

Boeing predicts the global aircraft fleet will nearly double over the next 20 years, from about 26,750 jets in 2023 to 50,170 in 2043. The company also raised its forecast for industry-wide passenger traffic growth to 4.7%.

Boeing has been struggling with a safety crisis since January following an emergency on board an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9.

The Federal Aviation Administration took the unprecedented step of telling Boeing that the company would not expand production of the 737 MAX until it was satisfied with the planemaker’s quality and safety improvements.