Southeast Asia air traffic to ‘triple by 2040s’
Passenger air traffic in Southeast Asia is expected to more than triple over the next 20 years, driven by above global average economic growth and a rising middle class, according to Boeing’s 2024 Commercial Market Outlook (CMO).
The company’s long-term demand forecast for commercial airplanes and services said the region’s aircraft fleet is also projected to more than triple to 4,960 jets.
Through 2043, passenger air traffic in Southeast Asia will grow 7.2% annually – well above the 4.7% average annual growth rate globally – according to the CMO.
“With Southeast Asia’s economy forecast to have the second-highest growth rate among global regions, rising household incomes will bring new consumers into this aviation market, fueling growth for low cost and leisure business models,” said David Schulte, managing director of Boeing Commercial Marketing for Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania.
“Southeast Asia’s growing fleet – especially single-aisle aeroplanes – will play an important role in further connecting the region’s island geography and serving travel demand across the Asia-Pacific region, particularly routes to China and Northeast Asia,” Schulte said.
Boeing also forecasts that airlines in Southeast Asia will expand their share of the Asia-Pacific fleet from 17% to 25%, with widebodies to make up one in five deliveries to meet long-haul demand.
The region will also need more than 120 new and converted freighters to support increasingly diversified global supply chains as well as growing e-commerce demand.
Southeast Asia operators will need to hire and train 234,000 new pilots, maintenance technicians and cabin crew – more than tripling the region’s active personnel.
