The global aircraft market will be boosted in the next two decades by demand for fuel-efficient jets as airlines replace old fleets to combat high oil prices, US plane maker Boeing forecast on Wednesday.

The Chicago-based manufacturer made the prediction at a London press conference as it unveiled a 20-year outlook for the commercial aviation sector.

"We see a bigger demand for replacing older, less efficient aircraft," Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing, told reporters.

Boeing said airlines were eager to replace their older fleets with new fuel-efficient aircraft — such as Boeing's Dreamliner jet and the Airbus A380 and A350 — amid record high oil prices that are pushing up the cost of jet fuel or kerosene.

Tinseth added: "We're seeing a very dynamic and challenging situation today in the commercial aviation industry.

"In the past we've faced many other challenges, recessions and oil crises, and what we have learned is that we are in a very resilient industry."

The world's airlines and freight companies will need about 29 400 new civil aircraft over the next 20 years, including orders that have already been placed, Boeing said in its Current Market Outlook for 2008.

The new aircraft will comprise 2510 regional jets, 19 160 single and 6 750 twin-aisle planes. The remaining 980 would be for larger aircraft such as the Boeing 747 and the huge Airbus A380, it added.

The US group had forecast last year that the global aircraft market would be worth $2.8-trillion up to 2026, with new orders totalling 28 600 aircraft.

A number of small airlines have gone bust in recent months because of the soaring cost of jet fuel, which is distilled from crude oil.

China will fuel airline growth

World crude prices had hit a record high point close to $147 per barrel last week but have since tumbled on growing fears about slowing global energy demand, traders said.

Boeing added Wednesday that Asian economic giant China would also help fuel rapid expansion of the global aircraft sector and overtake North America by 2027.

"The Chinese market today is very small but 20 years from now it will be bigger than today's North American market," Tinseth said.

He added: "Robust growth in China, India and emerging markets will lead towards a balanced airplane demand worldwide."

"We're seeing an increasing share of airplane deliveries to the Asia Pacific region, as well as the Middle East, Latin America, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)," Tinseth noted.

Boeing's latest forecasts are based on global economic growth of 3.2 percent per year throughout the forecast period, with rising passenger traffic of 5.0 percent per year and a 5.8-percent annual growth in freight.

AFP