Aircraft on the up

According to Boeing’s 2005

, released today in London, there will be a $2.1 trillion market for new commercial aeroplanes during the next 20 years. Market demands will more than double the world's commercial aeroplane fleet by 2024 and accommodate a forecasted 4.8% annual increase in passenger traffic growth.

"The long-term demand for new aeroplanes is going to remain very strong over the next 20 years," said Boeing Commercial Aeroplanes Vice President of Marketing Randy Baseler. "People will continue to desire travelling where they want to go, when they want to go. And that's reflected in the number and types of aeroplanes we see in our forecast."

In terms of delivery dollars, the largest market is projected to be the Asia-Pacific region, with 36% of the $2.1 trillion total.

Boeing projects a need for approximately 25,700 new commercial aeroplanes (passenger and freighter) during the next 20 years, more than 80% of which will be in the single-aisle and mid-size twin-aisle categories. This compares with last year's projection of a 25,000 commercial aeroplane market, worth $2.0 trillion.