22 | Flight International | 15-21 August 2017 flightglobal.com

WORLD AIRLINER CENSUS

DAN THISDELL & ROB MORRIS LONDON

Pascal Pigeyre/Airbus

Tale of the dragon

Our annual look at the world’s airliner fleets is a story of regional demand, programme

momentum, commercial strategies – and, increasingly, of the outsized impact of China

A

year ago, our annual census of the
world’s airliner fleets noted that
Boeing’s 787 was becoming a star
performer, clearly putting behind
it the painful memories of a protracted and
troublesome development, certification and
service entry. This year, Flight Fleets Ana-
lyzer data confirms that star status – while
the 787’s July 2016 to July 2017 in-service
fleet growth slowed to “just” a third, from
nearly 50% the year before, the advanced-
technology widebody is by far the star per-
former among mainliners.
That growth – 31.3%, to 554 aircraft as of 10
July – dwarfs the second-biggest gainer, the
737-600/700/800, at just 7.4%.
The maths is simple, of course. As the in-
service 787 fleet grows, a stable rate of output
from Boeing will have less and less percentage
impact on the total. Notably, during the past
12 months, the fast-growing 787 fleet overtook
the slowly dwindling 747.
The 787’s rising prominence also has much
to do with the simple fact that it is alone
among the new major programmes in being up
to speed, production-wise. Airbus A350 out-
put has yet to reach pace, like the A320neo
and 737 Max family aircraft, although these
types will ultimately see rapid growth, as Air-
bus and Boeing strive to establish what

Top 10 fleets - mainline aircraft

Number in service

Type 2017 2016 Change

Airbus A320ceo family 6,838 6,516 4.9%

Boeing 737-600/700/800/900 5,968 5,556 7.4%

Boeing 777 1,387 1,319 5.2%

Airbus A330 1,214 1,169 3.8%

Boeing 737-200/300/400/500 890 931 -4.4%

Boeing 767 744 738 0.8%

Boeing 757 689 688 0.1%

Boeing 717/MD-80/MD-90/DC-9 607 653 -7.0%

Boeing 787 554 422 31.3%

Boeing 747 489 503 -2.8%

Source: Flight Fleets Analyzer. Data for 10 July 2017 vs 10 July 2016

Beijing’s carriers have a

continuing big appetite

for network expansion

Top 10 fleets - regional aircraft

Number in service

Type 2017 2016 Change

Embraer 170/175/190/195 1,235 1,140 8.3%

ATR 42/72 950 913 4.1%

Bombardier CRJ700/900/1000 762 747 2.0%

Bombardier CRJ100/200 516 557 -7.4%

Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 506 465 8.8%

Embraer ERJ-135/140/145 454 528 -14.0%

Bombardier Dash 8 Q100/200/300 374 395 -5.3%

Beechcraft 1900 328 338 -3.0%

De Havilland Canada Twin Otter 270 266 1.5%

Saab 340 225 231 -2.6%

Source: Flight Fleets Analyzer. Data for 10 July 2017 vs 10 July 2016

Source: Flight Fleets Analyzer (10 July 2017)

29%

7% 24%

5%

5%

30%

Asia-Pacific

8,190

Europe

6,918

North America

8,389

Middle East

1,424

Africa

1,291

Latin America

2,023

28,235

To tal

Airliner in-service fleet distribution