Boeing, Airbus project 1,185 aircraft for Nigeria, others

Foremost aircraft manufacturers have intensified jostling for the Nigerian market and Africa in general, projecting operating aircraft requirements to triple before the next 20 years.

The projection is against the backdrop of the expected rise in passengers with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecasting 7.4 % growth in African traffic.

While Boeing was the most popular brand used by domestic airlines, Airbus and Embraer have recently made an inroad into the nation’s domestic air transport market with more airlines ordering for the aircraft type.

To this end, Boeing and Airbus, two giant plane makers, forecast that Africa’s aircraft need would quadruple by 2042.

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This was one of the outcomes of the recent African Aviation Summit where the three major plane makers- Boeing, Airbus, and Embraer were in attendance.

In a statement made available to our correspondent yesterday, Boeing projected that intra-African passenger traffic will more than quadruple in the next twenty years, placing the continent’s growth among the highest globally.

Overall African air traffic growth is forecast at 7.4%, the third highest among global regions and above the global average growth of 6.1%. To support this, Boeing said 1,025 new airplanes will be needed over the next two decades.

In its 2023 Commercial Market Outlook (CMO), the company’s long-term assessment of global demand for commercial airplanes and services, the aircraft manufacturer also projected Africa’s above-global average, long-term annual economic growth of 3.4%, combined with increasing rates of urbanisation and a growing middle-class population.

This, according to it, will continue to drive Africa’s long-term traffic demand.

“African carriers are well-positioned to support intra-regional traffic growth and capture market share by offering services that efficiently connect passengers and enable commerce within the continent,” said Boeing managing director of Commercial Marketing for Middle East and Africa, Randy Heisey.