Two of the biggest aircraft manufacturers in the world, Boeing and AIRBUS, are beginning to see the Middle East and Africa as the two regions of interests for the sale of their airplanes.
While Airbus expects fleet size in the Middle East to more than double in the 18-year period to 2043, the world’s third-fastest rate after China and the Asia-Pacific region, Boeing on the other hand has projected that the doubling of the commercial fleet of African airlines by 2043, signalling the propensity of many people in the continent’s growing population seeking new opportunities to travel by air.
The world’s biggest aircraft makers in the are locked in a fierce battle for market SHARE. Nigeria, Ethiopian, South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana are among leading countries on the continent with a burgeoning air transport industry.
A recent Boeing Commercial Market Outlook (CMO) indicated that between 2024 and 2043, the continent would experience the delivery of more than 800 new single-aisle jets.
This category of airplanes, the market study indicates, will account for most of the growth, as predicted by the company’s longterm demand forecast for commercial airplanes and services.
According to the CMO, passenger air traffic in Africa will increase 6.4 per cent annually more than tripling the region’s air traffic by 2043.
This growth rate ranks Africa as the third highest among the ten regions tracked by Boeing.
Speaking on the development, Boeing Managing Director of Commercial Marketing for Middle East and Africa, Shahab Matin, said as demand for air travel spikes, African airlines would need more single-aisle airplanes to efficiently serve many routes in the continent’s largest aviation markets.
In its latest Global Market and Services Forecast, Airbus said Middle East demand, led by airlines in the Gulf, was estimated at 3,740 new aircraft over the 18- year period, split between two,160 single-aisle and 1,580 wide-body aircraft.
“Saudi Arabia is a country that’s experiencing enormous growth at the moment,” Grainne van den Berg, Airbus head of airline marketing for Africa and the Middle East.
“They have a strong Vision 2030 and beyond, so if they are delivering on that vision, it will be one of the highest growing countries [for planes] in the region,” he said.
Passenger traffic in the Middle East is projected to grow by more than nine per cent by 2027 as the industry recovers from the 2020- 22 covid pandemic, van den Berg said.
Over the 18-year period, annual passenger growth will be closer to four percent per year, above the global average of 3.6 percent, she said. Fleet size may grow by 150 percent to almost 3,500 aircraft, from 1,370 in 2023.
The Middle East has become a strategic centre for global aviation, supported by strong international demand, investments in infrastructure and the growing presence of low-cost carriers.
A favourable geography at the centre of three continents, open skies agreements, demographic growth and bold tourism ambitions have spurred growth.
However, delays in new aircraft deliveries and limited engine availability are creating bottlenecks, and holding back the ambitious growth targets for 2025, according to the International Air Transport Association.
It is taking time for the industry to recover from Covid, and the supply chain has been challenging, “but we’re talking about long-term vision over the next 20 years,” Van den Berg said.
There is also a critical need for increased investment in workforce development to sustain the growth in the Middle East aviation sector, according to the Airbus report.
Over the next two decades the Middle East will need more than 225,000 people to join the sector, including 55,000 pilots, 30,000 technicians and 121,000 cabin crew, the report said.
The aviation services market is also poised for expansion, with projected growth of at least five per cent a year over the 18-year period, from $14 billion last year to $32 billion in 2043.
