China's First Boeing 787-9 Aircraft Makes Its First Flight To Chengdu (Photo : Getty Images)
Over the next 20 years, China would order from Boeing 6,810 planes worth $1.025 trillion.
The new aircraft orders are part of fleet expansion to address the expected fast-paced growth of domestic and overseas tourism in the Asian giant, reported Fortune. In 2015, Boeing forecast China would order 6,330 more jets.
The new estimate is 7.6 percent higher based on the continuing expansion of China’s middle class, new visa policies and a wide range of widebody planes, said Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Bloomberg reported in December that China Southern Airlines, the largest carrier in Asia by passenger volume, ordered $10 billion worth of planes. The air carrier and Xiamen Airlines, a subsidiary, are buying 100 current-model 737 jetliners and upgraded Ma variants.
Of the 110, 80 are new orders for China Southern and 30 are for Xiamen. Ihssane Mounir, Boeing senior vice president for Northeast Asia sales, said the commitment of China Southern is “a solid endorsement of the popularity of the Next-Generation 737 and 737 MAX. The company said the order is part of China’s 13th five-year plan which takes effect in 2016.
Because of the boost in Asian air travel, China is forecast to overtake the U.S. as the world’s largest aircraft market.
