Multinational corporation, Boeing said it expects Indian airlines to order up to 2,100 new aircraft worth $290 billion over the next 20 years, calling it the highest-ever forecast for Asia's third-largest economy. “The increasing number of passengers combined with a strong exchange rate, low fuel prices and high load factor bodes well for India's aviation market, especially for the low-cost carriers,” said Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president, Asia Pacific and India sales at Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
India is currently one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets with domestic passenger traffic growing at over 20 per cent a year in the last few years. The world's largest aerospace company said it expected passenger growth of about 8 per cent in South Asia, dominated by India, over the next 20 years, compared with the world average of about 4.7 per cent. It said it expected single-aisle planes, such as the next generation 737 and 737 Max, to account for the bulk of the new deliveries, with India likely to take 1,780 such aircraft. Boeing could increase the projection next year depending on how India's regional connectivity scheme pans out, Keskar said.
Boeing dominates the wide-body aeroplane market in India, while competitor Airbus SE sells the bulk of small planes preferred by low-cost carriers such as InterGlobe Aviation Ltd's IndiGo. Last year, India overhauled rules governing its aviation industry, liberalising norms for domestic carriers to fly overseas and spreading the country's air travel boom to smaller cities by capping air fares and opening airports.
