Boeing lowers outlook for world commercial planes

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2009

NEW YORK (AFP) — US aerospace giant Boeing said Thursday it saw a softer world commercial airplane market over the next two decades because of the global economic downturn, slumping air traffic and volatile fuel prices.

Boeing said in its annual outlook report that it expects a 3.2 trillion dollar market for commercial airplanes in the 2009-2028 period, unchanged from last year's 20-year outlook.

But the company forecast demand for 29,000 new passenger and freighter planes in the period 2009-2028, compared with the prior forecast of 29,400 planes.

Market growth will be led by an expansion of flight capacity, with airline companies buying 58 percent of planes, while fleet renewals will account for 42 percent of purchases, Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing...