3,750 planes in demand over 20 years in Southeast Asia

A total of 3,750 new airplanes valued at $550 billion are expected to be in demand over the next 20 years in Southeast Asia, according to the Southeast Asia Current Market Outlook (CMO) released by Boeing ahead of the biennial Singapore Airshow on Monday.

Boeing forecasts the Southeast Asian region to continue its strong annual traffic growth at 6.5 percent, Xinhua reported.

"In this highly competitive market, airlines are adding capacity and adapting with new business models, such as the growing number of low cost carriers. Boeing continues to offer the most comprehensive, fuel efficient and technologically advanced family of airplanes to meet our customers' needs," said Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president of Asia Pacific and India Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

The annual forecast projects three-fourths of Southeast Asia's new deliveries will be for growth, with largest demand for single-aisle airplanes such as the Next-Generation 737 and new 737 MAX.

There will also be demand for 800 widebody airplanes such as the 777, 777X and the 787 Dreamliner family. The number of low cost carriers is expected to grow to more than 45 percent of the total Southeast Asian market.

In the meantime, Boeing also projects a worldwide demand for 38,050 new airplanes over the next 20 years, with Southeast Asian carriers needing more than nine percent of the total global demand during the period.