All Nippon Airway's newest Boeing 787 Dreamliner. (Photo : Twitter)
Major aircraft manufacturer Boeing said that China is still a huge market for their jets despite the country's current economic slowdown.
The company made the statement during media briefing commemorating the delivery of its 50th 787 Dreamliner sold, Reuters reported. "We're not feeling any softness yet," Being senior vice president for sales in Northeast Asia Ihssane Mounir said, referring to reports of a slowdown in aircraft sales in the region.
Mounir added that China still has a growing demand for both domestic and international air travel, something that has not yet to be fully satisfied. He cited company's recent deals with major Chinese carriers Air China and China Eastern Airlines as proof of the current high demand.
Boeing announced in April that it has closed an order of 15 Dreamliner 78's fr-9's from China Eastern Airlines, which is estimated to be around $4 billion at current pricing for the aircraft.
Boeing's assessment came amid China's current economic slowdown, with several American companies reporting slow sales growth in the country. Analysts believe the trend could persist until the end of 2016.
Meanwhile, global demand for wide-bodied jets has also slowed down, raising concerns about Boeing's sales growth. The company has earlier announced that it will be decreasing the production of the older 777 airliners, while also not increasing the production of the 787 until there is renewed increase in demands.
However, the company expressed optimism that sales will bounce back, Puget Sound Business Journal reported. According to senior marketing manager Bob Michael, they still have 1161 orders for the Dreamliner coming from 65 different customers, 153 of which are of the 787-10 variant.
Mounir added that the design, efficiency, and reliability of the Dreamliner has been vastly improved, thanks to its close partnership with All Nippon Airways (ANA). ANA was the purchaser of the aircraft unveiled during the briefing and plans to use it for the route to be launched between Tokyo and Mexico City.
