Wednesday, 12 August,New Delhi: Raising its forecast for the Indian market, Boeing on Wednesday said the country will need 1,740 new aircraft worth $240 billion over the next 20 years.
The latest projection from the aircraft manufacturer is way higher than last year when it had forecast a demand of about 1,600 new planes valued at about $205 billion over a 20-year period.
Presenting a bullish outlook for the country’s commercial aerospace market, the aircraft maker said the number of low cost carriers is expected to increase to more than 30% of the total market.
“Over the next 20 years, Boeing forecasts India will need 1,740 new air planes worth $240 billion,” Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president of Asia Pacific and India Sales at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said here.
According to him, Indian economy as well as the country’s potential for air travel growth, both for leisure and business, continues to be strong.
Boeing said the largest demand from airlines in India would be for single-aisle Airplanes such as Next-Generation 737 and new 737 MAX. There would also be demand for twin-aisle Airplanes such as the 777 and 787 Dreamliners.
The latest forecast is for the period from 2015-2034.
During this period, 260 wide body aircraft are to be delivered valued at USD 80 billion. As many as 1,460 single-aisle Airplanes together worth $160 billion are projected to be delivered during the forecast period.
About 20 regional jets, valued at around $1 billion, would also be delivered.
“The Indian market is highly competitive and airlines are adapting with added capacity, moderate pricing discipline and new business models, such as the growing number of low cost carriers,” said Keskar.
About 170 of the 1,740 new aircraft would be replacements for existing ones, he added.
Globally, Boeing expects a demand 38,050 new Airplanes over the next 20 years and India carriers are projected to need more than 4.5% of the total demand worldwide.
PTI