Cost per seat does not work for most regional jets: Boeing's Ashwin Naidu

Boeing says regional jets won't scale in India as cost-per-seat economics and airport congestion favour single-aisle aircraft, with fewer than 10 regional jets likely even by 2044

The number of regional aircraft in India is unlikely to exceed 10 even over the next 20 years, as their cost per seat on a route does not work for most airlines, said Ashwin Naidu, managing director of marketing for India and Eurasia at Boeing Commercial Planes, on Wednesday.

 

His comments come a day after Brazilian aircraft-maker Embraer and Adani Defence & Aerospace signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a regional aircraft-manufacturing facility in India.

 

Regional jets are small jet-powered planes designed to carry around 50-100 passengers on short routes, such as the Embraer E175 or Bombardier CRJ series, and India currently operates fewer than 10 of them. A single-aisle plane, like the Airbus A320 or Boeing 737, is larger with 150-200 seats, used for domestic and international short- to medium-haul routes.

 

At Wings India 2026 Summit, Naidu released Boeing’s commercial market outlook. The South Asian region’s fleet is expected to rise from the current 795 aircraft to 3,290 by 2044, nearly a four-fold increase in that period, he said. The growth will be driven by single-aisle and wide-body aircraft while the number of regional jets is expected to remain below 10 even by 2044.

 

"In terms of regional jets, yes, the number is small. But I will tell you that each year that we have done this forecast, the number has continued to remain small. So, 10 to 15 years ago, our number was just that — less than 10. And if you look at how we are doing today, relative to our forecast 10-15 years ago, the only airline today that actually operates them (regional aircraft) in India commercially is Star Air, which, again, is a very small number," he said.

 

"So far, I would say proudly that our forecast has been right for the last several years on regional jets," he added.

 

Naidu said regional jets face economic and airport capacity challenges in India, as routes quickly outgrow small aircraft, making single-aisle planes more viable for long-term operations.

 

"Now, going forward, we still continue to maintain that regional jets are a challenge in India's aviation market, because, to succeed in Indian aviation, you need ‘seat-mile economics’, which is basically taking the cost to operate a flight and dividing that by the number of seats. And that (seat-mile economics) is a challenge even with larger aircraft. Therefore, it becomes an even bigger challenge with regional jets. So, that's one reason," he said.

 

"And, the second one is when you look at airports in India that are already constrained and congested, you want to use the higher-capacity aircraft. Regional jets may look good in year one or year two of operation, but very quickly the market outgrows the regional jet, and that's why, ultimately, India's aviation market requires single-aisle economics," he explained.

 

Boeing delivered less than 14-15 planes to Indian carriers in 2025, and it is expecting to deliver about 24-25 planes this year.

 

"There are no delays in deliveries. We work very closely with our customers. Air India's 787-9 plane — which is right outside this hall (at Begumpet airport where Wings India 2026 is taking place) — was delivered two weeks ago. We have an Akasa aircraft that was delivered a few weeks ago. So, deliveries are taking place. We typically deliver at least two aircraft a month to our primary customers in India," Naidu mentioned.

 

"Supply chain issues are always something that we work on very closely with our supply chain partners, and we are in constant communication with our customers. So, there are no delivery delays that are affecting the supply of aircraft in India," he added.