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Aerospace giants jet over to China

The giants of the aerospace industry will jet in to China’s only international air show today hoping the country’s aviation sector can provide shelter from the global financial crisis.

But there are early signs China has not escaped the drop-off that has hit the global industry, with analysts and airlines warning of a “cold winter” of slowing passenger demand.

Boeing of the US and Europe’s Airbus will head the line-up of 600 civil and military manufacturers and parts suppliers from 35 countries at the 2008 China Air Show, an annual event in the southern city of Zhuhai.

And as airlines across the world report a drop-off in first and business class travel because of the economic turbulence, the firms insist China can provide crucial growth in the next few years.

Research released last week by the US giant found China will need 3,710 new commercial planes worth US$390 billion over the next 20 years.

The demand will represent 41 percent of the entire Asia-Pacific market, and only the US will be a bigger buyer, Boeing said.

In addition, Chinese carriers will add about 370 freight-carrying planes by 2027, quadrupling their total freighter fleet, Boeing’s research found.

Airbus chief executive Tom Enders also said recently it was expecting a “large order” from Chinese airlines by early next year, on top of existing memorandums of understanding with Chinese carriers for 280 aircraft.

The company’s giant super-jumbo, the A380, will be on display at the China Air Show, as the company tries to take a bigger slice of the thriving market.

Last year, China’s air traffic soared 16.8 percent to 387.6 million passenger trips, on the back of 16.7 percent growth in 2006, state media reported.

The demand has sparked a similar boom in airport construction, with around 100 new airports planned by 2020, previous reports said.

Nevertheless, China’s aviation sector is starting to feel the impact of the global economic turmoil, said Tom Ballantyne, chief correspondent of industry magazine Orient Aviation.

“Although we are not talking about a cessation of growth, we are talking about a slowdown in growth,” Ballantyne said.
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