Air travel demand likely to double

Airline CEOs say current infrastructure can’t handle growth

Airline CEOs warn that infrastructure can’t handle the growth.

Demand for air travel likely will double by 2035, according to PwC’s annual report on the state of the worldwide airline industry.

But as the ascent of emerging economies and their burgeoning middle classes fuels the desire to travel to distant places, the airline industry will need to boost infrastructure, hire pilots and temper the ups and downs of fuel costs.

“Prospects for the global air- line industry are promising, as megatrends including shifts in global economic power and demographics ... increasing the demand for air travel,” Jonathan Kletzel, PwC’s U.S. Transportation and Logistics practice leader, said in a statement.

More than two thirds of airline CEOs are concerned current infrastructure can’t sufficiently handle the expected growth, according to the report.

Those limitations are particularly noticeable in China, Latin America and India, where the increase in passengers is supposed to be greatest.

Kevin Mitchell, founder of the Business Travel Coalition, says the U.S. likely will be left behind.

“I do not believe that the U.S. has the political will to make decisions to invest sufficiently in aviation infrastructure ... As we slide closer to third-world airport status, domestic business travelers will experience declining mobility, convenience and customer service. International business travelers will likely fare much better as that’s where the big investments in infrastructure are happening,” he said.

H. DARR BEISER, USA TODAY Cheaper fuel prices mean that as an industry airlines will spend $70 billion less on the cost of fuel this year than they did last year.