Boeing Slightly Cuts 20-Year Aircraft Demand Forecast, But Says ‘Resilience Will Remain A Hallmark’ Of Airlines Industry

The planemaker expects passenger traffic to grow at a rate of 4.2% annually, more than doubling in size as it continues to outpace global economic growth.

Boeing (BA) now expects worldwide demand for 43,600 additional commercial airplanes over the next 20 years, slightly lower than its earlier forecast.

The planemaker expects passenger traffic to grow at a rate of 4.2% annually, more than doubling in size as it continues to outpace global economic growth.

Last year, Boeing projected that 43,975 new planes would be added to the global fleet.

The company expects the global fleet to nearly double to more than 49,600 commercial airplanes, an outlook similar to the one provided by its European rival, Airbus, a few days earlier. The companies are banking on a growing middle class in emerging markets, including Southeast Asia.

“Resilience will remain a hallmark of this growing industry as we continue to see strong demand for new airplanes with commercial aviation returning to its pre-pandemic growth trajectory,” said Brad McMullen, Boeing’s senior vice president of Commercial Sales and Marketing.

While Trump's tariffs and growing global conflicts have raised concerns over the economy's health, airline companies have already weathered several challenging situations, including the pandemic.

McMullen noted that passenger air traffic tripled and the global airplane fleet more than doubled throughout the first quarter of the century.

Boeing also expects single-aisle airplanes to make up 72% of the global fleet, up from 66% in 2024.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits remained in the ‘extremely bullish’ (77/100) territory, while retail chatter was ‘extremely high.’

Boeing is continuing to grapple with the aftermath of the crash of an Air India flight that claimed the lives of nearly all 242 people onboard, barring just one.

Separately, Chinese media outlet Yicai reported that Boeing has delivered a new 787-9 aircraft to China's Juneyao Airlines.

Boeing stock has gained 10.2% this year.

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