Boeing shipments to hit new high

The Boeing logo is seen at their headquarters in Chicago, in this April 24, 2013, file photo.[Photo/Agencies]

Boeing Co's aircraft shipments to China will hit a record of 150 to 160 units this year, compared with the 120 deliveries made in 2013, a top company official said on Tuesday.

"Our deliveries to the China market exceeded our competitor in 2013 and 2014," said Ihssane Mounir, Boeing's senior vice-president for sales and marketing in Northeast Asia.

The growth in deliveries will also boost the market share of the US-based aircraft manufacturer from the current 52 percent, Mounir said.

By the end of this year, the company expects to clinch new orders for 350 to 400 aircraft in China, he said, adding that fresh orders had already reached 270 by the beginning of this month.

Many prospective clients, including some leasing companies, are still talking about new orders, Mounir said.

Boeing has set a goal of delivering 140 to 160 new aircraft every year in China and is confident about sustained growth in the country's aviation market, he said.

"Fleet growth in China is still strong, as the base is relatively small," Mounir said, and the market will need a decade to post stable growth.

Narrow-body aircraft, which are fast becoming the mainstay for carriers, accounted for 28 percent of the new shipments to China in 2013. The same will rise to 30 percent in the next few years, as manufacturers increase their production capacity, Mounir said.

China will receive 3,687 new narrow-body aircraft, accounting for two-thirds of the entire new fleet in the country, from 2014 to 2033, according to statistics provided by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China.

New carriers and leasing companies have been the main buyers of narrow-body aircraft, sources said.

9Air Co, a low-cost carrier based in Guangdong province, which started operations this month, ordered 50 Boeing 737 aircraft in May, making it the largest single order from a privately owned Chinese carrier.

Airbus SAS also got 100 orders for A320 aircraft from China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings Ltd in early December. Industry sources said that the European aircraft manufacturer needs to be cautious about competition in China's single-aisle market, as many clients are now contemplating multiple choices.

Wang Zhijie, senior vice-president of Spring Airlines, said that the low-cost carrier currently operates a whole fleet of A320 aircraft and is seriously considering adding Boeing 737 MAX to its fleet as the latter has better seat capacity.