Hyderabad: With India emerging one of the most promising markets for the civil aviation industry, the two top aircraft manufacturers appeared gung-ho on their plans for the country.
While US plane maker Boeing said India will need another 1,740 new aircraft over the next two decades, European manufacturer Airbus said that the country will need 1,600 new passenger and freighter aircraft worth $224 billion over the same period. Airbus has upgraded its forecast keeping in view the impressive growth of civil aviation sector in the country.
Officials of the two global players came out with the promising projection at the India Aviation 2016, the international aviation exhibition and conference being currently held in Hyderabad.
Dinesh Keskar, senior vice-president (sales), Asia Pacific and India, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, told reporters at a press conference at the Begumpet airport on Thursday that the value of the 1,740 new aircraft required by India will be at $240 billion and that 1,460 of these will be single-isle while remaining 15 per cent will be wide-bodied planes. These projections conform to the aggressive plans drawn in India by the government to provide air connectivity to the Tier II and Tier III cities beyond the big metropolitan cities.
Meanwhile, Boost Van der Heijden, Airbus’ Vice President, Marketing, Asia, said his company received 250 new orders last year excluding the orders of now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines. The orders include 250 A320neo aircraft by IndiGo — the biggest civil aviation order, and 72 aircraft of the same type by GoAir.
