Update | Airbus boosts aircraft demand forecast by almost 4pc on Asia growth

Airbus increased its long-term forecast for aircraft demand by almost 4 per cent yesterday on growth from China and the rest of Asia, as Asian airlines shone at the opening day of the Paris air show with large aircraft orders.

"Asia-Pacific will lead in world traffic by 2034 and China will be the world's biggest aviation market within 10 years, and clearly Asia and emerging markets are the catalyst for strong air traffic growth," Airbus's chief operating officer (customers), John Leahy, said.

Indonesia's national carrier, Garuda Indonesia, announced plans to buy up to 90 next-generation planes in total from both Airbus and Boeing with a list value of more than US$19 billion, accounting for the bulk of some 200 orders the two plane-makers combined received by midday in Paris.

Garuda Indonesia said it intended to purchase 30 A350s from Airbus, 30 B787-9s and up to 30 B737 MAX 8s from Boeing. Taiwan's EVA Airways also announced it planned to buy five Boeing 777 freighters. Airbus raised its forecast for global demand for new aircraft by 1,226 to 32,585 planes worth US$4.9 trillion in the next 20 years and highlighted the role played by emerging economies including China, where the percentage of people taking a flight a year would triple by 2034 from only 25 per cent today. "Emerging economies which collectively account for six billion people, are the real engines of worldwide traffic growth," it said in a press release.

Boeing raised its 20-year market outlook last week in an annual update by 1,280 planes to 38,050 planes worth US$5.6 trillion. Asia is expected to account for 40 per cent of total airplane deliveries over the next two decades.

But both plane-makers trimmed their forecast for global traffic growth by 0.1 of a percentage point compared with last year. Airbus is predicting an annual average rate of 4.6 per cent while Boeing says 4.9 per cent.

Chinese plane-maker Comac received 50 orders for its narrowbody C919 from Ping An Leasing and seven potential orders from start-up Puren Airlines, bringing the total number of orders past the 500 mark for the jet that has been hit by delays.