China to become worlds largest aircraft market

China will be the largest market for new commercial airplanes in the next 20 years, according to Boeing’s latest market forecast. Boeing said China will acquire 3,400 new planes worth US$340 billion in that time. In addition, China will continue to lead all domestic air travel markets with a passenger-kilometer growth rate of 8.8%.

Following the anticipated surge in passenger traffic for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the China domestic market will grow nearly fivefold by 2026 to become slightly larger than today’s intra-North American market.

With the continued high rate of growth for China air travel and air cargo markets, China’s fleet will nearly quadruple to 4,460 aircraft by the end of the forecast period in 2026.

Single-aisle airplanes such as the Boeing 737 will be the largest category with total new airplane deliveries reaching 2,200. Intermediate twin-aisles such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner (mocked-up interior seen here) and 777 will see approximately 750 airplane deliveries. When combined, the single-aisle and intermediate twin-aisle market will make up 90% of China’s total delivery dollars.