Passenger numbers signal healthy returns for Boeing

'Boeing has made great strides in the Middle East market in recent years. In 2004 we had about 25 per cent of the long haul carrier market in the region. Today we have 91 per cent. One reason we are so successful is that we are more focused on this region and have increased our sales force to target this area.

'Another factor is that carriers in this region tend to buy long haul planes. Sixty per cent of the planes in the Middle East are wide body. We have an edge in that we have completely overhauled our long-haul fleet over the past five years, so that all of our wide bodies are new. That gives us a five year advantage over our competitor.'

Magill credits fuel efficiency as another reason for Boeing's success.

'All of our new planes are environmentally friendly. Our new 787 is designed to be 20 per cent more fuel efficient and has a fuel efficiency of three litres of fuel per 100 passenger kilometres [the amount of fuel needed to take one passenger 100 kilometres]. A lot of cars are not able to achieve that.

'Since our new aircraft require less fuel, companies have greater financial incentive to replace their old, inefficient fleets with our newer generation airplanes.'

Magill said general trends in the region are strong, pointing to the 12 per cent backlog of planes ordered but not yet delivered. This represents $25bn in orders. 'The market for new planes is really strong in the Middle East. And that backlog is just Boeing's here. It does not include the Airbus backlog.'

Currently most flights from the Middle East are to Europe, but flights to Asia are on the rise. Magill also expects to see an increase in traffic from the US to the Middle East, as more American carriers buy planes that can fly longer distances.

'One thing that will dramatically impact air travel in this region is the emergence of low-cost carriers. Today there are relatively few compared to other parts of the world, but the region is opening up to these carriers. When more are established here, they will offer customers more direct services, greater frequency of routes, and significantly lower fares.'

Worldwide, Boeing's sales have been steadily climbing. 'Our total backlog is higher than it has ever been. It's now stands at $208bn, which equals six times our annual revenues. About 2,800 planes are on backlog - if you lined them up nose to nose they would stretch to 89 miles. In 2005 we set a sales record, we broke that record in 2006, and already in 2007 we have sold 841 planes.'

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