Boeing and Airbus bullish on Asia<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (AFP): Asia-Pacific economies will propel world air
\ncargo traffic growth into the 21st century, boosting demand for
\ndedicated air freighters, according to officials of the world's
\ntwo leading plane makers.<\/p>\n
Boeing Co. and Airbus Industrie executives, in papers
\ndelivered at an ongoing transport and logistics conference here,
\ngave bullish projections for trade growth in Asia, which would
\nstimulate demand for air cargo services.<\/p>\n
James Edgar, regional director for cargo marketing of the
\nBoeing Commercial Airplane Group, forecast that freight revenue
\nton kilometers (RTKs) will average 6.6 percent a year between now
\nand 2014.<\/p>\n
\"This means that the market will roughly triple over the next
\n20 years. Not surprisingly, Asian freight markets will lead world
\ngrowth,\" he said.<\/p>\n
All regional markets are forecast to grow substantially but
\nintra-Asia, Asia-North America and Asia-Europe traffic will lead
\nthe way.<\/p>\n
\"For manufacturers like Boeing, this dramatic growth in Asia
\nand around the world is good news,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Boeing aircraft now handle about 72 percent of world freighter
\ncapacity, but \"the best lies ahead,\" Edgar said.<\/p>\n
Passenger aircraft with lower-hold capacity for air cargo will
\nnot be enough to meet freight demand because of growth in
\npassenger traffic in the region, forecast by industry experts to
\nreach 400 million annually by 2010.<\/p>\n
Edgar said the fleet of all-cargo aircraft has grown to more
\nthan 1,000 at present, from less than 100 in 1970, and by 2014,
\n\"we expect the fleet to double,\" with large freighters
\nconstituting 38 percent of the fleet.<\/p>\n
Didier Lenormand, group manager for marketing of Boeing's
\nEuropean rival Airbus, told the conference that by 1994, air
\ncargo volumes in the Asia-Pacific region were roughly equivalent
\nto those in Europe and North America.<\/p>\n
But in the last five years, Asia-Pacific air cargo has been
\ngrowing twice as fast as the rest of the world, he said.<\/p>\n
Lenormand said the air freight business has evolved into a
\n\"service driven\" sector amid increasing competition.<\/p>\n
\"Air freight was perceived as an expensive means of
\ntransportation. This is less and less the case,\" the Airbus
\nofficial said.<\/p>\n
Airbus forecasts eight percent annual growth for world cargo
\ntraffic to 2005, with intra-Asian traffic expanding by 9.6
\npercent and more mature markets growing at a slower pace, he
\nsaid.<\/p>",
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