A few days later, its long-standing rival Boeing unveiled a similar, if slightly more ambitious, vision: 48,575 aircraft in circulation by 2042, with 42,595 to be produced between now and then. This should make the industry's goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 a little more difficult. However, the deployment of new-generation aircraft should support the process: the latest aircraft consume up to 25% less kerosene than their predecessors.
Where will demand come from? Mainly from Asia. China is expected to absorb 20% of all aircraft, Eurasia 21% and Asia-Pacific 22%, i.e. two-thirds of all aircraft to be produced in the region. North America should account for 23% of production. In addition, the rise in global GDP is expected to bring 500 million people into the middle class, as many potential travelers. Finally, the sector anticipates strong growth in low-cost airlines, domestic and short-haul flights.
While this outlook is a source of great satisfaction for the airline industry, it does not seem to address the urgent need to protect biodiversity. As a reminder, it is estimated that bird populations on the European continent have fallen by 25% over the last forty years, and that Europe loses an average of 20 million birds a year, although this decline is not attributed solely to the explosion in aircraft traffic, but to a combination of human factors. Let's hope that our favorite birds will learn to wear helmets in the future, before taking to the ever more crowded skies.
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