Airbus has raised its aircraft demand forecast, saying it now expects to deliver 26,000 new aircraft over the next 20 years. That's almost 900 more than previously forecast.

Chief Operating Officer John Leahy says the recovery in the airline industry has been stronger than predicted thanks to passengers from emerging markets.

Johnn Leahy, Chief Operating Officer of Airbus said "Over 20 years, the Asia-Pacific region will be the number one market for aircraft and air travel in the world. Right now it's about 27 percent of the world market, similar to the North American market and the European market. But in 20 years, it will be 33 percent of the world demand while the North American market will have slipped down to about 20 percent. If demand doubles in 15 years in places like China and India, it's doubling every 6 years, you can't just keep putting more and more aircraft into places like Heathrow, Frankfurt, JFK, Los Angeles, Hong Kong. You can't build that many more airports. You need to be able to meet the demand by having larger aircraft."

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