Boeing, Airbus raise fleet outlook

Boeing and Airbus on Thursday said Indian carriers would need a bigger fleet in future. While Boeing’s forecast indicated India would require 1,600 planes valued at $205 bn in the next 20 years, Airbus estimated the demand to be 1,290 aircraft worth $190 bn between now and 2032.

The latest Boeing forecast was higher than the 1,450 aircraft worth $175 billion it had projected last year. Meanwhile, the projection by Airbus expects the aircraft demand to be higher by 248 from its earlier estimate.

"Indian market is pretty attractive for sustained growth in air transportation," said Dinesh A Keskar, senior vice-president (sales), Asia Pacific and India.

Our forecast is pretty much in line with what the Indian government was thinking, he added.

"My forecast in 2000 highlighted Boeing would do $25 billion sales up to 2020. However, we have done more than that in the last four years," said Keskar.

According to Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh, India's airplane fleet would grow to 1,000 from the existing 400, making it the world's third largest market after the US and China by 2020.

In its report, Airbus said, "Of the requirement for 1,290 new aircraft, some 73 per cent will be for growth and 27 per cent for replacement. The new passenger aircraft include 913 single aisles like the A320 and A320 neo family, 322 twin aisles like A350 XWB and A330, and 56 very large aircraft such as A380. By 2032, today's fleet of 343 aircraft would more than triple to some 1,233 aircraft."

"As the people of India fly more and the number of first-time flyers increases, demand for the latest generations of aircraft will also increase making India on of the largest and most dynamic markets in the world," said Kiran Rao, Airbus EVP Strategy and Marketing.

By 2032, Airbus forecasts 36 per cent of India's fleet will be wide-bodies, more than doubling today's level. This is the result of increased capacity of international as well domestic routes with larger aircraft like A330s and A350s.