Boeing and Airbus bullish on Asia

Boeing and Airbus bullish on Asia

SINGAPORE (AFP): Asia-Pacific economies will propel world air cargo traffic growth into the 21st century, boosting demand for dedicated air freighters, according to officials of the world's two leading plane makers.

Boeing Co. and Airbus Industrie executives, in papers delivered at an ongoing transport and logistics conference here, gave bullish projections for trade growth in Asia, which would stimulate demand for air cargo services.

James Edgar, regional director for cargo marketing of the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group, forecast that freight revenue ton kilometers (RTKs) will average 6.6 percent a year between now and 2014.

"This means that the market will roughly triple over the next 20 years. Not surprisingly, Asian freight markets will lead world growth," he said.

All regional markets are forecast to grow substantially but intra-Asia, Asia-North America and Asia-Europe traffic will lead the way.

"For manufacturers like Boeing, this dramatic growth in Asia and around the world is good news," he said.

Boeing aircraft now handle about 72 percent of world freighter capacity, but "the best lies ahead," Edgar said.

Passenger aircraft with lower-hold capacity for air cargo will not be enough to meet freight demand because of growth in passenger traffic in the region, forecast by industry experts to reach 400 million annually by 2010.

Edgar said the fleet of all-cargo aircraft has grown to more than 1,000 at present, from less than 100 in 1970, and by 2014, "we expect the fleet to double," with large freighters constituting 38 percent of the fleet.

Didier Lenormand, group manager for marketing of Boeing's European rival Airbus, told the conference that by 1994, air cargo volumes in the Asia-Pacific region were roughly equivalent to those in Europe and North America.

But in the last five years, Asia-Pacific air cargo has been growing twice as fast as the rest of the world, he said.

Lenormand said the air freight business has evolved into a "service driven" sector amid increasing competition.

"Air freight was perceived as an expensive means of transportation. This is less and less the case," the Airbus official said.

Airbus forecasts eight percent annual growth for world cargo traffic to 2005, with intra-Asian traffic expanding by 9.6 percent and more mature markets growing at a slower pace, he said.