Boeing eyes growing Indonesian market
Boeing eyes growing Indonesian market
JAKARTA (JP): Boeing Commercial Airplane Group, an American aircraft manufacturer, expects to gain more orders from airlines in Indonesia and other Asian countries in line with the increase of the air travel business in the region.
Boeing's regional director for marketing, Gregory H. Russell, told reporters yesterday that the world's airline industry has recovered after the 1990 to 1992 unprofitable period.
He said that the world gross domestic product, revenue passenger miles and the airline industry's operating profits have significantly grown since 1993.
He said that worldwide revenue passenger miles, which were less than 1.3 trillion in 1992, jumped to 1.35 trillion in 1993 and to over 1.5 trillion last year.
In the meantime, the airline industry's operating profits surged as well from some US$2.5 billion in 1993 to about $8 billion in 1994 and to almost $12 billion in 1995. The airline industry suffered total losses of approximately $4 billion during the 1990 to 1992 period.
Russel said that the Asia-Pacific was the most promising region for the industry.
The rate of revenue passenger miles of the airlines in the Asia-Pacific has shown higher growth than those in Europe and America, he said.
"Air travel growth will vary among major travel markets," Russell said.
He said that Indonesia would be one of the countries with the highest rate of annual traffic growth in the 1996 to 2000 period.
"The rate is estimated to reach 7.8 percent in Indonesia, 7.1 percent in the Pacific, South Asian and Middle Eastern regions and 6.7 percent in China," he said.
He said that the demand for airplanes will also increase with the growth of traffic and profits.
Market requirements in 1996 to 2015 will most likely consist of 68 percent for single aisle aircraft, 22 percent for intermediate twin-aisle airplanes and 10 percent for wide-body aircraft.
As of 1995, airlines in Asia operated 33 percent of the intermediate-size and large aircraft, followed by U.S. airlines with 27 percent, European airlines with 23 percent and other countries with 17 percent.
Deliveries of intermediate-size and large jets in the 1996 to 2000 period will be 40 percent for Asian airlines, 29 percent for U.S. airlines, 22 percent for European airlines and 9 percent for other airlines in the rest of the world.
"The key Asia-Pacific airline markets will be Boeing B-747 and B-777 series which are proper for regional, Asia-Europe and trans-Pacific routes," Russel said.
Boeing's sales director for Southeast Asia, Paul, G. Dunbeck, said yesterday that his company had recorded orders for 268 B-777 aircraft worldwide as of March 6.
"The B-777 has captured 73 percent of the market since its launch in 1990," he said, adding that the remainder belonged to Airbus A-330 and A-340 series.
Boeing has boasted that the 305-seat B-777 aircraft offers 13 percent more than its competitors -- the A-330 and A-340 series.
Meanwhile, the company announced on Monday that it will increase its planned production rate of three of its commercial aircraft for 1997, reflecting the positive market outlook for new airplanes.
Boeing planned to accelerate production rates on the B-737, a twin-engine medium-sized airplane; the B-757, a larger twin- engine plane; and the B-747, a four-engine jumbo jet, Reuter reported.
The B-737 production rate will be increased from its current seven per month, to 8.5 per month in the fourth quarter, to 10 per month in the first quarter of 1997.
The B-757 will return to a monthly output of four airplanes per month from three airplanes. In the second quarter of 1997, B- 747 production will increase from 3.5 airplanes per month to four airplanes.
Boeing previously announced an increase in the production rate of its new twin-engine B-777 jet from its current two airplanes per month, to 3.5 units per month in the fourth quarter and five per month in the first three months of 1997.
The pace of production of the B-767, a twin-engine medium range airplane, will remain at four per month.
The plan will bring monthly production for all five Boeing models to 27 airplanes by the second quarter of 1997. Current production is at 18.5 per month.
Boeing, the world's leading producer of commercial aircraft, also plans to modify its 747 jet to fly more people over longer distances than any other passenger plane.
The plan is likely to anticipate the planned A-3XX a double deck aircraft to be developed by the European consortium Airbus Industrie. (icn)