Boeing Foresees Major Fleet Expansion In Southeast Asia

Boeing Company BA said Southeast Asia's commercial airplane fleet will nearly quadruple to more than 4,000 jets by 2042, becoming one of the global leaders in air traffic and fleet growth. 

Fleet will grow 6.9% annually, twice the global rate, tied to low-cost carrier expansion, as per Boeing's 2023 Commercial Market Outlook (CMO), the company's annual long-term forecast of demand for commercial airplanes and related services.

"As the Southeast Asia market reopens, air traffic will grow substantially," said Dave Schulte, Boeing Commercial Marketing managing director for Asia-Pacific. 

"Expanded connectivity, tourism and low fares will continue to stoke new and increased travel, especially among a growing middle class across the region."

In another development, Boeing's internal data was reportedly leaked online this Friday by the cybercrime gang Lockbit, known for extorting victims through data theft and ransom demands.

In October, the hackers claimed to have acquired "a tremendous amount" of sensitive information from the aerospace giant Boeing, threatening to release it online if a ransom wasn't paid by November 2, according to a news report by Reuters, citing a post on Lockbit's website.

The data from Boeing was published in the early hours of Friday morning, Reuters noted, cautioning that it has not independently verified the data. The data mostly dates to late October.

First identified on Russian-language cybercrime forums in January 2020, Lockbit ransomware has been observed globally, targeting organizations in countries like the U.S., India, and Brazil, as reported last year by cybersecurity firm Trend Micro, noted Reuters.

Price Action: BA shares are trading higher by 1.04% to $195.35 on the last check Friday.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.