China's airline fleet is on course to hit more than 5,500 aircraft over the next 20 years, according to early findings from a fleet forecast being developed by Flightglobal in association with marketing practice Achieving the Difference.

China is already closing on the USA as the world's largest market for new aircraft, with its airlines currently holding orders for 728 mainline and regional aircraft, equivalent to 9% of the world backlog.

The US carriers currently hold some 11% of the backlog, also in line with the collective share held by carriers within the European Union, says the latest data from Flightglobal's ACAS fleet database.

The Flightglobal forecast suggests that the demand for aircraft in China will continue to run at around 7% annually over the next 20 years, building to around one million seats.

The projections, which are being unveiled today at Farnborough, represent an early output from the Flightglobal commercial fleet forecast project. This is being carried out as a partnership between Flightglobal's Insight research team, with its unrivalled access to aviation market data, and AtD's Clive Lewis, an economist with decades of forecasting experience within the commercial aerospace sector.

The UK's Bristol Business School, a leader in market modelling, has also provided support to ensure a robust methodology, based around key economic indicators and industry trends.

The aim of the forecast is to offer an independent view of fleet development within the world's main regions to seat category and model level.

Receive more details about the forecast and its commercial release

Source: Flight Daily News

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