Increasing oil prices could put regional airline fleet expansion on hold, according to John Roundhill, vice-president product strategy and development at Boeing.
Mr Roundhill said although new aircraft were more fuel-efficient than older ones, as oil prices increased airlines' profit margins were squeezed and they did not buy new planes.
'If an airline does have the market and not the capacity, then it could be a problem,' Mr Roundhill said.
'We are concerned about that.'
But Mr Roundhill said that although this was historically the case, there was no evidence to suggest it was happening at the moment.
Despite the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries increasing output twice this year, oil prices have continued their upward trend as investors fear it is still insufficient to meet global demand.
Boeing expects the Asian passenger and cargo markets to triple over the next 20 years.
