Boeing Forecasts When Domestic, International Flights Will Return to Pre-Pandemic Levels

Image: Boeing corporate offices. (Photo courtesy of Boeing)
Image: Boeing corporate offices. (Photo courtesy of Boeing)
Donald Wood
by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:10 AM ET, Wed September 15, 2021

Boeing announced revised long-term demand forecasts on Tuesday as commercial air travel has made a considerable rebound over the last several months when compared to predictions from last year during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to Reuters.com, the United States-based airplane manufacturer is forecasting that 43,610 commercial jets will be delivered over the next 20 years, an increase of 500 units from the 43,110 projected a year ago.

The total estimated orders would be worth $7.2 trillion in the current market.

From a 10-year perspective, Boeing officials predict 19,330 planes will be delivered, an increase from last year's forecast of 18,350. The current projections are only down six percent from the report published by the company in 2019 before the COVID-19 outbreak.

"One of the strongest reasons for confidence is how quickly we have seen a bounce-back in domestic travel in the last 12 months," Boeing Chief Strategy Officer Marc Allen told Reuters.

As for overall demand for flights, the manufacturer believes domestic service returning to pre-pandemic levels in 2022, followed by regional traffic in 2023 and international in 2024. Boeing is predicting that environmental pressure will also accelerate the retirement of jets, leaving room for new planes in the market.

According to the 2021 CarTrawler Yearbook of Ancillary Revenue (via PhocusWire.com), several airlines in the U.S. and beyond offset the drop in demand with a boost in revenue from their ancillary products and services.

The study suggests Allegiant, Spirit, Viva Aerobus and Wizz Air earned more than 50 percent of their total revenue from ancillaries last year.


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