Is the air freight market set for a change? The speculation is rife following huge orders for new aircraft placed by some of the airlines. The airlines from the West Asia-Gulf are believed to have placed orders for over 100 aircraft.

Recent reports suggest that the Indonesian airline Lion Air has “trumped even the likes of Emirates Airline, Etihad and Qatar Airways in an enormous order for at least 230, and possibly as many as 380, aircraft from Boeing”.

At face value it might seem that there is an explosion in demand for new aircraft. However, it must be remembered that Boeing's present order-book stands at 495 planes, less than 2010's 625 and less than half of 2007's 1,244 aircraft. The latest orders are believed to have been placed on expectations about the growth of passenger demand rather than freight.

None-the-less the impact of almost 400 aircraft on the market for freight in South-East Asia, for example would be substantial. A senior executive of Boeing has been quoted as saying that the demand for aircraft is moving beyond Europe and North America, with projections suggesting that 60 per cent of demand for new aircraft will come from emerging markets by 2030.

Capacity expansion combined with the air-hub facilities in the Gulf States is likely to change the calculation of the modal mix for reaching emerging markets which set to become buyers markets, says eyefortransport quoting Transport Intelligence.

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