Boeing eyes Latin America growth

Demand for air travel in Latin America will see the region buy more than 1,700 planes worth $120bn (£59.3bn) over the next 20 years, Boeing has predicted.

Plane travel in the region will grow on an annual basis of 6.6% over the two decades, the planemaker forecast, second only to China's expected growth.

Single-aisle jets will make up about 80% of orders, the firm said.

Earlier this year, Boeing estimated the world's airlines would spend $2.8 trillion on new aircraft by 2026.

This figure included freight planes as well as passenger jets.

Latin America is seen as an attractive growth area for the aircraft industry because of the large distance between places, poor existing transportation links and an increasing number of people able to afford air fares.

New aircraft as well as existing planes and purchases of used planes will take the region's fleet size to 2,420 by 2026, Boeing said.

But large jets, such as Boeing's 747 and Airbus's A380, will make up less than 1% of new deliveries, according to the projections.