Despite slump, sharp growth in demand for aircraft in India: Airbus, Boeing forecast
05 Aug 2008
Despite a universal downturn in the economy and the aviation sector, Airbus and Boeing foresee a spike in the demand for aircraft in India. With Boeing already positing a demand for 1,001 aircraft in India spread over the next 20 years, Airbus now says that the country will see a demand for 1,100 aircraft over the next 25 years.
According to Justin Dubon, regional press manager, Airbus, ''India is a promising market for us. Our forecast takes into account the industry's near-term challenges, including surging fuel prices and slowing air traffic growth. Yet, we foresee a strong demand for aircraft because India is the third largest in terms of purchasing power parity. It is also projected to be the seventh largest economy by 2017.''
According to the Airbus forecast, the Indian market will need 1,100 passenger and freighter aircraft, valued at $105 billion, over the next 25 years. Airbus has already bagged over 295 orders from Indian carriers, valued roughly at $22 billion. Its clients include Kingfisher, which has placed an order for 64 aircraft, Air Deccan (72), Jet Airways (10), Indigo (100), Indian (43) and GoAir (10).
Boeing has orders worth $25 billion from Indian carriers, including 68 aircraft from flag carrier, Air India, 63 from Jet Airways, 30 from SpiceJet and three from the Indian Air Force.