Airbus and Boeing are confident that long-term growth prospects remain strong for the Indian airline industry despite the severe downturn it experienced in 2008 and 2009.
"The Indian economy is showing signs of rebounding and this will translate to new aircraft orders by 2012. Long term, the potential for growth in India's aviation sector remains exceptional," says Miranda Mills, Airbus vice-president sales, India.
The EADS subsidiary, in its global market forecast, projects that Indian carriers will require 993 passenger aircraft and 39 freighters valued at $138 billion between 2009 and 2028. The new passenger aircraft include 638 single-aisle aircraft, 287 twin aisles such as the A350 and A330, and 68 large aircraft such as the A380.
Boeing projects a similar overall demand for 1,000 aircraft valued at $100 billion. It differs from Airbus, however, and says that large aircraft like its 747 or the A380 will comprise only around 1% of the market. It sees a market for 770 narrowbody aircraft, 60 regional jets and 160 twin aisles such as its 777 and 787.
"Low-cost carriers will drive the growth of the Indian airline industry in the coming years," says Boeing India president Dinesh Keskar. "In addition, the market is fragmenting. Instead of traffic concentrating on the large cities, there are more direct long-haul flight out of the smaller cities. That means there is less need for larger aircraft like the 747 and A380, and greater need for the single-aisle and smaller widebody aircraft."
Source: Flight International
