KUALA LUMPUR: The Asia-Pacific region is expected to require about 17,620 new passenger and freighter aircraft in the next 20 years, according to Airbus SE.
The European airframe manufacturer said this would be driven by an average of 5.3 per cent annual passenger traffic growth and accelerated retirement of older and less fuel-efficient aircraft.
Airbus added that nearly 30 per cent of the airplanes would likely be replaced with newer and fuel-efficient aircraft.
Of the total requirement for 17,620 aircraft, Airbus said 13,660 are projected to be in the small category such as the A220 and A320 Family.
In the medium and long-range categories, Asia-Pacific could continue to drive demand with some 42 per cent of global requirement, translating to 2,470 medium and 1,490 large category aircraft, said Airbus.
The Asia Pacific is home to 55 per cent of the world's population comprising China, India and emerging economies such as Vietnam and Indonesia, which will be the principal drivers of growth in the region.
Gross domestic product will likely grow at 3.6 per cent per year compared to the world average of 2.5 per cent and double in value by 2040.
The middle class, who are the likeliest to travel, will increase by 1.1 billion to 3.2 billion and the propensity for people to travel is set to almost triple by 2040.
Meanwhile, Airbus said cargo traffic in Asia-Pacific would increase at 3.6 per cent per annum, well above the global 3.1 per cent average.
This could lead to a doubling in air freight in the region by 2040.
Globally, Airbus said express freight boosted by e-commerce could grow at an even faster pace of 4.7 per cent per year.
Overall, this reflects a robust growth over the next 20 years, as there will be a need for some 2,440 freighters, of which 880 will be new-build.
Airbus is seeing a global recovery in air traffic, and as countries further eased travel restrictions, the Asia-Pacific region could become one of its main drivers.
Chief commercial officer and head of Airbus International Christian Scherer said the company is confident of a strong rebound in the region's traffic and expected it to reach 2019 levels between 2023 and 2025.
"With an ever-greater focus on efficiency and sustainable aviation in the region, our products are especially well-positioned," he said.
Scherer said Airbus' modern portfolio offers between 20 per cent and 25 per cent fuel burn and, in addition to that, carbon advantage over older generation aircraft.
"We pride ourselves that all our aircraft products are already certified to fly with a blend of 50 per cent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), set to rise to 100 per cent by 2030."
In addition, he said Airbus newly launched A350F offers efficiency gains of 10 per cent to 40 per cent compared to any other large freighter, existing or expected, both in terms of fuel consumption as in carbon emissions.
Globally, Airbus said there would be a need for some 39,000 new-build passenger and freighter aircraft in the next 20 years, of which 15,250 will be for replacement.
As a result, the vast majority of commercial aircraft in operation will be the latest generation by 2040, up from some 13 per cent currently, considerably improving the carbon efficiency of the world's commercial aircraft fleets.
The global aviation industry has already achieved huge efficiency gains, as shown by the 53 per cent decline in aviation's carbon emissions per revenue passenger kilometre since 1990.
Airbus' product range supports at least a 20 per cent carbon efficiency gain over previous-generation aircraft.
Airbus said it has a clear ambition to achieve the air transport sector's target to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, following the ongoing innovations, product developments, operational improvements as well as market-based options.