What Happened: Airbus, the world’s leading planemaker, anticipates the global fleet to more than double, reaching 48,230 planes in the next 20 years, Reuters reported on Monday. The company also foresees industry-wide deliveries of 42,430 new airplanes, including 41,490 passenger jets, which marks a 4% increase from the previous survey.
The demand for larger wide-body planes is seeing a sharp increase as airlines look to renew capacity. Airbus has revised its total wide-body demand forecast by 9% to 8,920 units. The most significant changes in Airbus’ forecast affect the long-haul fleet, with double-digit increases in South America and North America.
Meanwhile, demand for single-aisle passenger planes like the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 series is expected to increase by 3% to 33,510 units. The company’s predictions are based on economic forecasts suggesting that 1.7 billion people will join the middle class, with some income available for air travel, in the next 20 years.
Bob Lange, head of market analysis and forecasts at Airbus, said, “We see particularly strong growth in Asia and the Middle East, led particularly by India and China. Domestic China (traffic) will overtake the U.S.”
In response, Airbus launched a cost-cutting program and implemented a hiring freeze to strengthen its aircraft manufacturing business.
Price Action: On Friday, Airbus SE closed at $36.31 as per Benzinga Pro.
Read Next:
Image by VanderWolf via Shutterstock
This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari
© 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.
