Boeing sees $15-trillion market for airplanes and supporting services

Based on the current robust market, Boeing projects that airlines will need to order about 42,700 new passenger airplanes worth a total $6.3 trillion to meet demand over the next two decades.

Boeing sees a $15 trillion market for airplanes and supporting services over the next two decades, driven largely by budget carriers and the narrow-body jets they favor to haul travelers.

The bullish annual forecast by the Chicago-based planemaker comes amid nine years of unprecedented growth for aerospace. Air travel is booming as global trade and economic growth in emerging markets from China to Brazil lift about 160 million people into the middle class each year. Boeing’s predictions are derived from a blend of economic and airline-user data. The forecast doesn’t include the potential ripple-effects from near-term geopolitical turmoil or escalating trade