Airbus forecasts China to be world's largest aviation services market by 2042

The first Airbus A321 aircraft is produced at the Final Assembly Line Asia (FALA) facility in north China's Tianjin on Nov. 9, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)

BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- China will become the world's largest aviation services market by 2042, with its market value climbing to 54.1 billion U.S. dollars, Airbus China forecast on Tuesday.

China is set to overtake Europe and North America to top the global market for aviation services, as the country's in-service commercial aircraft fleet is expected to grow to 10,930 by 2042, according to the Airbus aviation services forecast for the Chinese market.

Amid steady progress in the realization of its "dual carbon" goals, China's civil aviation industry is becoming more efficient and its quality is improving. It is creating more opportunities for the services market in three major areas: maintenance, training and operations, and passenger-experience enhancement, said Hu Yongdong, vice president of customer services strategy, business development and operations at Airbus China.

The Airbus forecast predicts that China's demand for pilots, technicians and cabin crew members will more than double from 212,000 jobs in 2023 to 561,000 in 2042.