Middle East open to new airlines to meet demand

• Region to need 3,000 new jets
• Gulf ‘ready for more entrants’
• Middle East loads climb

Boeing sold nearly 200 jets to Middle Eastern airlines during this year’s Dubai Airshow and the US plane manufacturer believes the region is ready for “more new entrants”.

“Because of the geography and economic growth, this region will support more competition and new entrants, not only for local passengers but also for connecting economies throughout the word,” Darren Hulst, vice president of commercial marketing at Boeing, told AGBI. 

• Riyadh Air positions Saudi as major player in Gulf aviation
• Neom flying taxis ‘should be ready by 2026,’ says developer
• Gulf’s low-cost carriers fuel demand for smaller aircraft

A study by the aerospace giant revealed that the region will need 3,025 new airplanes by 2042 to meet air travel demands. 

Saudi Arabia has announced plans to launch two new airlines, Riyadh Air and Neom Air, and Hulst believes the kingdom is most likely to launch new airlines in the near term. 

The International Air Transport Association announced this month that the strong post-pandemic rebound in passenger traffic trend continued in September. Total global traffic is now at 97 percent of pre-Covid levels. 

Middle Eastern airlines saw a 26.6 percent rise year-on-year in September, with the average load factor climbing 1.9 percentage points to 81.8 percent. 

Watch the full video to find out why Darren Hulst thinks that airplane ticket costs are one of  the “least inflation-impacted parts of the global economy”.