Airbus Forecasts Asia-Pacific Growth

Airbus says Asia-Pacific airlines will buy 8,000 aircraft by 2030 worth $1.2 trillion.

The manufacturer's latest forecast says cargo traffic will increase 6.3 percent per year throughout the region. This compares with a global forecast average of 5.2 percent.

Airbus says the Asia-Pacific region will continue to dominate the global air freight market with airlines growing their all-cargo fleets five times to 1,500 aircraft by 2030.

While many of these will be converted from passenger models, the company predicts that around 340 new production freighters will be delivered over the next 20 years. These will be mostly widebody aircraft and represent 40 percent of expected global demand for new freighters.

John Leahy, Airbus COO Customers, says that by 2030 the region will be the world's largest air transport market with airlines carrying around 40 percent of all air freight.

"To meet this demand, larger aircraft will be needed to ease congestion and do more with less," he said. "This will see airlines from the region account for more than 50 percent of the demand for very large aircraft, such as the A380."

Airbus says 66 Asia-Pacific airlines currently operate 1,430 Airbus planes with another 1,120 on order. This represents 32 percent of the company's total order backlog.