XI'AN, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese airlines need to add 7,630 passenger aircraft before the year 2038 to meet rising passenger demand and replace retired planes, projected state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China, Ltd. (AVIC).
AVIC on Thursday released its annual forecast for the country's civil aviation market between 2019 and 2038 in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
Among China's fleet of aircraft, 1,460 are wide-body trunk-liners, 5,168 are narrow-body trunk-liners and 1,002 are regional jetliners, said Huang Yumin, deputy director of AVIC's development and research center.
Narrow-body trunk-liners will continue to make up a major proportion of the aircraft fleets. But congested major airports and air routes, as well as overseas business expansion, will lead to more demand for wide-body aircraft, said the annual report.
In the next two decades, the passenger load factor for Chinese airlines is expected to remain above 84 percent, according to the annual report.
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