2050 Vision

Airbus provides a far-ranging, thought-provoking look at some of the changes the commercial aerospace industry might expect to see by 2050.

While aircraft cruising speeds have not changed significantly since jet air transport operations began in the late 1950s, overall journey times are actually getting longer in many cases as air traffic and airport delays are increasing at the world's busiest airport hubs.

Airbus global market forecasts indicate that the world's passenger aircraft fleets will increase by 109% over the next 20 years. Some 28,200 new aircraft are expected to be delivered to meet growth and replacement needs, but that is only up to the year 2031. Boeing predicts similar numbers up to that time.