KUALA LUMPUR, April 19 — Airbus remains steadfast in its aim of capturing a significant share of aircraft demand in the Asia-Pacific region over the next two decades, forecast to be 19,560 passenger aircraft or a staggering 46 per cent of total global demand, despite uncertainties due to the war in West Asia.
Among the major growth drivers would be some 1.5 billion people entering the middle-income bracket, boosting overall demand for air travel in the region, said Airbus president for Asia-Pacific, Anand Stanley.
He said key markets for Airbus in Asia-Pacific include major economies China and India, while Malaysia is the third largest, with Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines emerging as critical engines of expansion.
According to Airbus’ latest market forecast, the region will need 19,560 passenger aircraft over the next 20 years out of the total global demand of 42,520.
As of February this year, Airbus’ global order backlog stood at 9,037 aircraft, with approximately 35 per cent or 3,190 aircraft coming from the Asia-Pacific region.
As such, the long-term outlook for the region remains intact, supported by changing demographics, economic expansion and increasing connectivity needs even as near-term developments continue to evolve.
He also attributed the European aircraft manufacturer’s superlative outlook to the strong structural growth drivers, despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainties disrupting air travel currently.
“While it is too early to speculate on the short-term impact from current events, we remain very confident in the long-term demand outlook for Asia-Pacific,” he said in an exclusive interview with Bernama recently.
Structural Drivers Underpin Demand
Elaborating, Stanley said the region’s growth is driven by a rapidly expanding middle-class travellers, with an estimated 1.5 billion people expected to enter the income bracket, lifting demand for air travel across domestic, regional and long-haul markets.
“Today the Asia-Pacific region accounts for almost one-third of our business and revenues. We have strong partnerships and presence with 27 sites in 13 countries and territories, 9,000 employees and 600 tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers in our supply chain,” he said.
The fundamental structural drivers such as the demographics, economic growth, geographical makeup of the region such as archipelagos and the growing middle class will continue to drive demand in the short term, mid-term and long term.
Based on the combination of all these factors, “we strongly believe that there will be growth in the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.
He also said low-cost carriers remain a key enabler, particularly in emerging markets, while demand for long-haul connectivity is supporting growth in widebody aircraft and cargo segments.
Airbus’ widebody portfolio, including the Airbus A330neo and Airbus A350, is also seeing increased adoption due to improvements in fuel efficiency, lower carbon emissions by up to 25 per cent, and extended range capabilities.
In the cargo segment, the company is also positioning its Airbus A350F as a next-generation solution, offering up to 40 per cent reduction in fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions compared with the Boeing 747 freighter with similar payload.
“In our offering of these modern fuel-efficient aircraft with long-range capability, Airbus has overtaken Boeing in this key market of widebody to meet that structural shift in the last two years,” he said.
Touching on the global order backlog with about 35 per cent or 3,190 aircraft coming from the Asia-Pacific region, Stanley said Southeast Asia accounts for roughly one-third of Asia-Pacific demand, highlighting its growing relevance alongside China and India.
He said that market share for Airbus’s single-aisle aircraft in Asia-Pacific accounts for 55 per cent of aircraft in service with 57 per cent of backlog, while for widebody aircraft, it stands at 45 per cent aircraft in service, with 56 per cent of backlog.
Ramp-up Strategy to Meet Demand
On supply chain and delivery issues, he said Airbus is executing a production ramp-up strategy, increasing manufacturing rates across its aircraft programmes.
“So, Airbus is increasing its production rate in a process called ‘the ramp-up’ to meet this huge demand, almost half of which is coming from the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.
The company aims to deliver 870 aircraft in 2026, up from 793 units in 2025.
Planned monthly production targets include 13 A220 aircraft by 2028, 70-75 A320s by 2027, five A330s by 2029, and 12 A350s by 2028.
While acknowledging ongoing supply chain constraints, Stanley said overall conditions are improving with the ramp-up strategy, giving Airbus confidence to proceed with its production expansion plans.
“We’re still confident that the long-term demand will match and reinforce our long-term market prediction.
“If I were to look more at the near term, especially for Asia-Pacific carriers, we see that the Asia-Pacific full service carriers are adapting their operations and strategies to meet their domestic demand, regional demand, and long-haul passenger and cargo demand,” he said.
He said half of the future global demand will come from Asia-Pacific, specifically China and India, with the third biggest market being Malaysia, a strategic major market for Airbus with its major customers being AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines.
