Aircraft
Airbus Sees Vital Market in Mideast
European airframer’s order book jammed with more than 1,200 aircraft backlogged in the region
 Low-cost Middle East carriers like Air Arabia are growing the market for the Airbus A320 and other narrowbody airliners.
Low-cost Middle East carriers like Air Arabia are growing the market for the Airbus A320 and other narrowbody airliners.

Having placed 700 aircraft since 1978 in a territory that includes the Middle East and North Africa, Airbus now counts a customer base of 40 airlines in 30 countries ranging from the east Atlantic coast to the Indian Ocean. It holds an order book consisting of more than 1,200 airplanes, and projects that air traffic in the region will grow at a rate of 6.7 percent per year over the next 20 years, compared with a global average of 4.6 percent.