According to Boeing’s most recent 20-year Commercial Market Outlook (CMO), half of all new jetliners will be wide-bodied twin-aisle aircraft and the greatest percentage of growth will be in the Middle East.
Boeing’s market analysis also states, “The Middle East has a centuries-old role connecting the economies and populations of Asia, Europe, and Africa. Now, an eight-hour flight from Dubai can reach 80 percent of the world’s population, and the same boundary will contain 70 percent of global economic growth for the next two decades.”
Dubai’s Emirates Airline’s vice-chairman Sir Maurice Flanagan claims they can offer direct, non-stop service to “anywhere out of Dubai (except the Galapagos Islands).”
The Boeing market outlook also indicates that the growth in Middle East passenger traffic over the next 20 years will demand more than 3,000 new aircraft and that commercial air fleets will grow to more than 4,000 units.