Airbus sees demand for 1,600 planes in India

The European plane maker said over the next two decades, the country will need 1,230 single aisle narrow body aircraft

Indian carriers will require 1,610 aircraft over the next twenty years, European plane maker Airbus announced on Thursday in its India market forecast. This will include 1,230 single-aisle narrow body aircraft and more than 380 wide-body passenger and freight aircraft which continues to see significant demand.

In its 2014 market forecast, Airbus had estimated India would require nearly 1,300 planes.

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“We have seen launch of new carriers in India and we see a role for A321neo, the largest single-aisle aircraft with lowest cost per seat. The number of wide-body planes in India will grow seven fold. We expect Indian carriers to increase international air traffic for which the airlines would need wide body planes. Indian carriers carry more than 30 per cent of India’s international traffic and there is room for it to grow to 50 per cent,” said Joost Van der Heijden, vice-president (marketing) of Airbus.

The demand for wide bodies is also expected to increase as India relaxes the 5/20 rule. This would allow new airlines including AirAsia India and Vistara to fly abroad.

Currently, Airbus has 210 aircrafts in India and an order backlog of more than 520 Airbus A320neo, giving it a market share of more than 70 per cent in service. On an average Airbus will deliver one aircraft each week over the next ten years.

Air traffic in India is being driven by a strong seven per cent plus GDP growth and a rising middle class. "Traffic serving the Indian market is set to grow at 8.4 per cent year over the next twenty years, well above the world average of 4.6 per cent. Domestic Indian traffic will grow more quickly at 9.3 per cent - making India the world’s leading emerging aviation market," Airbus said.