Indian aviation reports double-digit growth
India’s fast expanding civil aviation sector and the ongoing airport development programme has created a demand for 2,300 aero-planes over the next 20 years.
The building of such a large-scale fleet in the country will require a hefty US$320 billion or Rs.224,536 crore, according to a Boeing forecast for the period of 2018-2037.
The Indian demand would be for 1,940 single-aisle planes (of 90 seats and above) and 350 wide-body aircraft (of 200 seats and above), costing US$220 billion and US$100 billion, respectively.
India would also need 10 regional jets (seats below 90) worth US$1 billion.
Boeing raised its long-term forecast for commercial airplanes in India as unprecedented domestic passenger traffic and rapidly expanding low-cost carriers (LCCs) drive the need for 2,300 new jets.
This year alone, more than 10 million passengers, on average, traveled within India each month, said Boeing in a release on 19 Dec 2018.
“To meet this increased domestic air traffic growth, we see the vast majority of available airplane seats coming from LCCs,” said Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president of Sales for Asia Pacific and India, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
“The success of this market segment will mean more than 80% of all new airplane deliveries in India will be single-aisles. And the superior economics and fuel efficiency of the new 737 MAX airplane will be the perfect choice for Indian carriers,” he pointed out.
According to Boeing’s Commercial Market Outlook (CMO), India’s commercial aviation industry has achieved 51 consecutive months of double-digit growth. This growth is matched in other sectors of the country’s economy.
“The Indian economy is projected to grow by nearly 350% over the next two decades to become the third largest economy in the world,” said Keskar.
“This will continue to drive the growth of India’s middle class and its propensity to travel both domestically and internationally, resulting in the need for more new fuel-efficient short- and long-haul airplanes.”
With more than five percent of the world’s fleet expected to operate in India by 2037, services will continue to be a major driver of growth in the region’s commercial aviation industry, said Boeing.
Commercial services such as flight training, engineering and maintenance, digital analytics among others will provide airlines with optimal operational efficiencies as they continue to expand to meet growth in the marketplace.
In the South Asian market, including India, Boeing forecasts a commercial services market valued at US$430 billion over the next 20 years.
Formerly known as Boeing’s Current Market Outlook, the CMO is the longest running jet forecast and regarded as the most comprehensive analysis of the commercial aviation industry. fiinews.com
