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Thailand will be one of the key emerging markets for the aviation industry in the next two decades along with the Middle East, thanks to rising international and domestic traffic.

The increasing number of low-cost carriers and deregulation in the region are the main growth drivers.

The French-based aircraft-maker has projected that airlines in Thailand will need more than 84 aircraft to replace their old planes and 114 additional airliners would be ordered, worth a total of US$40 billion (Bt1.3 trillion).

Sean Lee, newly appointed head of Asia regional communications, said Airbus planned to get more than half of the orders.

He said airlines would need about 99 twin-aisle aircraft, followed by 53 large airliners and 46 single-aisle aircraft.

"The projection of demand for new aircraft is based on rising demand, and Airbus will bid in all market sectors," said Lee.

To tap each of the ranges from short haul to long haul, Airbus is promoting its smaller single-aisle A320, the twin-aisle A330, A340 and A350 for medium-range and A380 for long-haul aircraft.

Airbus said its updated order backlog totalled 8,835 aircraft from 296 customers worldwide. The Asia-Pacific is the biggest growth area, with 21 per cent of the orders, while China is growing fast at 13 per cent. Excluding India, China and Japan, passenger traffic in Asia from 2007-26 is expected to grow 5.3 per cent, higher than a world average of 4.9 per cent.

The aircraft-maker believes it will gain more orders because many airlines want more fuel-efficient aircraft, due to the soaring cost of oil. However, Airbus is concerned about its profits being eroded by the sinking US currency, as the company builds aircraft with parts paid for in euros, but the planes are paid for in dollars.