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'Global aircraft numbers to more than double by 2038'

The world’s passenger and freighter aircraft fleet is set to more than double from today’s nearly 23,000 to almost 48,000 by 2038, due in part to an increase in passenger traffic and replacement of older planes, according to Airbus.
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The world’s passenger and freighter aircraft fleet is set to more than double from today’s nearly 23,000 to almost 48,000 by 2038, according to Airbus.

In its ‘Global Market Forecast’, Airbus predicts aircraft traffic to grow at a rate of 4.3 per cent annually between this year and 2038.

The increase will require 39,210 new aircraft to be built, and more than 550,000 new pilots, it added.

“The 4 per cent annual growth reflects the resilient nature of aviation, weathering short term economic shocks and geopolitical disturbances. Economies thrive on air transportation. People and goods want to connect,” said Christian Scherer, Airbus chief commercial officer and head of Airbus International. “Globally, commercial aviation stimulates GDP growth and supports 65 million livelihoods, demonstrating the immense benefits our business brings to all societies and global trade.”

To cater to varied needs, Airbus has simplified its aircraft segmentation to consider capacity, range and mission type. The new categories are "small”, “medium” and “large”. A short-haul A321 is classified as small, a long-haul A321LR is medium and an A350XWB is large.

Airbus predicts that most of the new aircraft will be in the small range (29,720 aircraft), followed by medium (5,370 aircraft) and large (4,120 aircraft).

Of these, 25,000 aircraft are for growth and 14,210 are to replace older models, with newer ones offering superior efficiency. - TradeArabia News Service

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