A Boeing 737-800CF aircraft is painted at the One-stop Aircraft Maintenance Industry Base of Hainan Free Trade port in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, April 6, 2023.

 
With a resurgence in international air traffic now recovering to pre-pandemic levels, US aircraft maker Boeing on Sunday projected global demand for planes to hit 42,595 new commercial jets by 2042, which are valued at $8 trillion. 

Within this forecast, Asia-Pacific markets account for more than 40 percent of global demand with half coming from China, Boeing predicted.
 
Boeing's report was published as part of a 2023 Commercial Market Outlook, or the company's forecast of 20-year demand for commercial aircraft and services ahead of the Paris Air Show.
 
The forecast comes three years after the COVID pandemic grounded most of the global air fleets.
 
The aviation industry has demonstrated resilience and adaptability after unprecedented COVID disruption, with airlines responding to challenges, simplifying their fleets, improving efficiency and capitalizing on resurgent demand, according to Brad McMullen, Boeing senior vice president of Commercial Sales and Marketing.
 
Within the 20-year forecast period, Boeing anticipates demand, of which new single-aisle airplanes will account for more than 75 percent of all new deliveries, up slightly from the 2022 outlook, totaling more than 32,000 aircraft. 
 
New wide-body jumbo jets will represent about 20 percent of future deliveries, with more than 7,400 aircraft enabling airlines to open new markets and serve existing routes more efficiently.
 
Air cargo will continue to outpace global trade growth, with carriers requiring 2,800 dedicated freighters. This includes more than 900 new widebodies as well as converted narrow-body and widebody models, the forecast noted. 
 
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) on June 5 announced an expected strengthening of airline industry profitability in an upgrade of its outlook for 2023.
 
Airline industry net profits are expected to reach $9.8 billion in 2023 which is more than double the previous forecast of $4.7 billion made in December 2022.
 
Airline industry operating profits are expected to reach $22.4 billion in 2023, much improved over the December forecast of a $3.2 billion operating profit. It is also more than double the $10.1 billion operating profit estimated for 2022, the IATA said. And, some 4.35 billion people are expected to travel in 2023, which is closing in on the 4.54 billion who flew in 2019, the IATA added.