By IANS
Mumbai : Airlines operating in the Asia Pacific are expected to take delivery of one new aircraft every day over the next five years, and this growth is expected to be propelled by India and China, says a new study.
There will be a 49 percent increase in the total number of aircraft in the region’s fleet, according to the Sydney-based Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), an international aviation consultant.
CAPA’s research shows a 35 percent increase in wide body aircraft fleet (to 1,585 units), a 51 percent increase in narrow bodies (to 3,195 aircraft) and a 113 percent increase in regional jets (to 375 aircraft) by 2013.
This is largely expected due to significant growth of air traffic in the two major Asian countries, India and China, says the CAPA report e-mailed to IANS.
The CAPA report also suggests that the Gulf-based carrier, Emirates, would eclipse all other long haul carriers and become the largest long haul airline in the world by 2012, when it would achieve 33 million passengers.
A further 1,759 aircraft are scheduled for delivery to airlines in the Asia Pacific between 2013 and 2018, resulting in a regional fleet of 2,158 wide bodies, 4,047 narrow bodies and 709 regional jets.
The Dubai-based airline, which launched services to its 100th destination – Cape Town – last week, currently has 114 aircraft in service and a further 243 on order.
The proportion of wide body aircraft in the region, compared to the worldwide fleet, would rise from 38 percent in 2008 to 41 percent by 2018.
According to CAPA, the region’s narrow body fleet is poised to soar from 21 percent of the worldwide total this year to 25 percent in just five years and stay at that proportion in 2018.
The regional jet fleet in the Asia Pacific accounts for just six percent of the global total, will rise to nine percent in 2013 and more than double to 13 percent by 2018.