????關于全球航空業的未來，這大概是你能見到的最大膽直白的預測了。

????亞洲首富、香港億萬富豪李嘉誠控股的長江實業集團有限公司（Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd）準備豪擲約20億美元，打造一支擁有60架客機的機隊，以此為前景光明的亞洲航空公司提供飛機租賃服務。

????在向香港聯合交易所（Hong Kong Stock Exchange）提交的文件中，長江實業表示將購買45架飛機，同時與日本的三菱商事株式會社（Mitsubishi Corp）組建合資企業，并持有60%的股份。

????所購置的飛機將來自多個賣家，包括通用電氣公司（General Electric Co）旗下的商用飛機租賃金融航空服務公司GE Capital Aviation Services Ltd。

????此舉顯然是押注中國航空客運業的長期發展前景。根據國際航空運輸協會（International Air Traffic Association）估計，未來20年全球的航空客運量將翻一番，達到73億人次，其中主要客流來自中國，預計中國的航空客運量年均增長率將達到5.6%。

????國際航空運輸協會還預測，中國將在2030年之前超越美國，成為全球最大的航空市場；到2034年，中國每年的客流量將達到13億人次，領先于美國的12億人次。

????路透社（Reuters）報道，長江實業還在與私募股權基金公司洽談飛機收購事宜，其中包括泰豐資本（Terra Firma）旗下的租賃公司AWAS Aviation Capital Ltd，該筆交易所涉金額甚至更高，達50億美元左右。

????波音公司（Boeing Corp.）和空中客車（Airbus）同樣認為，亞洲的需求將在中期范圍內迎來快速增長，未來20年該市場的總銷售額有望達到4.4萬億美元至5.2萬億美元。（財富中文網）

????譯者：南風

????審校：Patti

????It’s as bold a statement on the future of global air travel as you could wish to see.

????Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd, controlled by Asia’s richest man, Hong Kong-based billionaire Li Ka-Shing, is to pay around $2 billion to build a fleet of some 60 airliners that it will lease to the continent’s up-and-coming airlines.

????In a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Cheung Kong said it will buy 45 aircraft outright and buy a 60% stake in joint venture with an arm of Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp.

????The planes are being bought from a variety of sellers including General Electric Co’sGE 0.47% GE Capital Aviation Services Ltd.

????The move is a play on the long-term outlook for Chinese air passenger growth. The International Air Traffic Association expects global air passenger numbers to double within 20 years to 7.3 billion, mainly due to China, where numbers will grow by an average rate of 5.6% a year.

????By the IATA’s estimate, China will overtake the U.S. as the world’s biggest air travel market by 2030, and have 1.3 billion passengers a year by 2034, ahead of the U.S.’s 1.2 billion.

????Reuters reported that Cheung Kong is also in talks to buy aircraft being sold by private equity firms including Terra Firma-owned lessor AWAS Aviation Capital Ltd, in an even bigger deal worth about $5 billion.

????Both Boeing Corp. BA -0.71% and Airbus also expect rapid growth in demand from Asia over the medium term, seeing total sales over the next 20 years of between $4.4 trillion and $5.2 trillion.