Paris/London - Despite the economic crisis, which has hit air travel particularly hard, European aircraft builder Airbus said Thursday that some 25,000 new passenger and freight planes will be delivered over the next 20 years.

In its Global Market Forecast, which was introduced in London, the company estimated the value of those aircraft at 3.1 trillion dollars.

Airbus said the factors driving the demand include "emerging economies, evolving airline networks, expansion of low cost carriers and the increasing number of mega-cities."

In addition, the replacement of older aircraft with more "eco- efficient airliners" will also serve as a spur to the industry.

Airbus foresees a decline in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) of 2 per cent for 2009, due to the crisis, but a rise of 4.6 per cent in 2010. The forecast anticipates that RPKs will increase by 4.7 per cent per year over the next 15 years.

"This will require a demand for almost 24,100 new passenger aircraft valued at 2.9 trillion dollars," Airbus said.

Furthermore, airfreight ton kilometres (FTKs) are seen to increase annually by 5.2 per cent, creating a demand for more than 850 new cargo aircraft valued at 210 billion dollars.

The greatest demand for passenger aircraft will come from airlines in Asia-Pacific and emerging markets, with the region that includes China and India accounting for 31 per cent of the total, Airbus said.(dpa)