Boeing: Air traffic rebound is boosting demand for aircraft

Boeing Co., the world's second- largest commercial planemaker, said a recovery in air-travel demand is bolstering appetite for new aircraft orders.

Passenger traffic will likely grow at the upper end of an earlier forecast of between 3 percent and 5 percent this year, Boeing's marketing chief Randy Tinseth said in a Bloomberg TV interview. Orders this year will likely match the 142 it had in 2009, he said, declining to be more specific before an official announcement due this week.

"Airlines are now looking to firm up options, firm up purchase rights and at buying new planes," Tinseth said April 16 in Jakarta. "We're seeing fewer deferrals, we're seeing fewer delays, we're starting to have more talks with our airline customers."

Boeing, seeking to regain the No. 1 title from rival Airbus SAS in 2011, last year cut production after the worst recession in six decades forced carriers to postpone and cancel orders. Airlines globally are expected to lose a total of $2.8 billion this year, after racking up $9.4 billion in losses in 2009, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Airlines in Asia are likely to place more orders from 2011, with China and India, the world's two-fastest growing major economies, being the "most promising" markets for the company over the next two to three years, Tinseth said.