India's aviation sector needs 1,000 planes over 20 years: Airbus

With orders for over 300 aircraft from airlines like Kingfisher Airlines, Air Deccan, Indigo, Go Air, Indian Airlines and a freighter company, European aircraft major Airbus has projected that India will need 1,000 new planes over the next 20 years.

This is a more optimistic outlook than its main rival Boeing has about the future of aviation in India. The market outlook released by Boeing this July projected India would require 911 new planes in the next 20 years. While releasing its outlook two months back, Boeing said it had orders for 141 planes from AI, Jet Airways, JetLite, SpiceJet and the Indian Air Force (IAF).

At a function yesterday where low-cost carrier GoAir took delivery of a new Airbus A-320, Airbus presented its outlook for the country, which forecast that India would need over 1,000 new planes over the same period. Airbus's vice president (sales, India) Miranda Mills said India's domestic aviation sector had seen a growth of 116 per cent over the last five years.

Both Boeing and Airbus are eying a 50 per cent market share of their projections over the next two decades. Mills said Airbus currently has a 53 per cent share, comprising 130 aircraft.