Airbus: growth will continue

[Kurt A]

Airbus: growth will continue

Aircraft manufacturer Airbus is confident that air traffic in Australia and the rest of Asia-Pacific will continue to grow at around six per cent per year despite a looming global slowdown, its chief executive said yesterday in Sydney.

In his first visit to Australia as chief executive of Airbus, Tom Enders told the National Aviation Press Club that Australia alone would require some 520 new aircraft over the next 20 years. He said Asia Pacific passenger traffic would outstrip global annual growth of 4.9 per cent, growing at six per cent.

“[A travelling middle class] is relatively new in Asia Pacific, so the potential for growth here is enormous despite higher oil prices and predictions of a slowdown in the US and Europe,” he said. “Aircraft are not only needed to meet this growth, but also to replace older aircraft with more modern, more fuel efficient and more eco-efficient ones,” he said.

All aircraft would get around 15 per cent larger, he added, to cope with the demand rather than more planes, in contras to the view from rival Boeing spruiking more small jets. Enders confirmed the manufacturer had held discussions with Qantas over its possible acquisition of the longrange A350-1000, but that no deal had been signed.

-tw

[Rhys Xanthis]

I personally think QF will be interested in some A350's.

More room for longer journeys i guess.