According to the aircraft maker, demand for domestic air travel is leading the recovery with intra-regional markets expected to follow as health and travel restrictions ease. This will be followed by long-haul travel’s return by 2023 to 2024.

Boeing said the availability and distribution of vaccines will continue to be "critical factors" in the near-term recovery of passenger air travel.

Stan Deal, president and chief of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said the aerospace industry has made "important progress" in the recovery and Boeing’s 2021 forecast "reflects our confidence in the resilience of the market".

"While we remain realistic about ongoing challenges, the past year has shown that passenger traffic rebounds swiftly when the flying public and governments have confidence in health and safety during air travel," he added.

"Our industry continues to serve an essential role of bringing people together and transporting critical supplies."

Passenger traffic growth is projected to increase by an average of 4% per year, unchanged from Boeing’s last year forecast.

It predicts the global commercial fleet will surpass 49,000 airplanes by 2040, with China, Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific countries each accounting for about 20% of new airplane deliveries, and the remaining 20% going to other emerging markets.

"Demand for more than 32,500 new single-aisle planes is about equal to the pre-pandemic outlook," the company claimed. "These models continue to command 75% of deliveries in the 20-year forecast".

Boeing said carriers will need more than 7,500 new widebody airplanes by 2040 to support fleet renewal and long-term passenger and air cargo demand growth in longer-haul markets. These projections are up slightly compared to 2020 but remain down 8% from 2019.