India will require 1,880 passenger, cargo aircraft by 2038: Airbus

Airbus has assumed the Indian middle-class population will grow to 1 billion or 68% of the total population by 2038, as compared to the present 540 million

European aircraft maker Airbus says India will require 1,880 new passenger and cargo aircraft between now and 2038, on a conservative estimate.

Airbus has 80 per cent of the plane order backlog from this country. Its latest India Market Forecast says of the said requirement, up to a fifth could be wide-body aircraft. It estimates 440 will be needed to replace retiring planes and 1,440 are for growth during this period.

Taking into account the 440 retirements, India’s existing domiciled fleet of 510 aircraft will quadruple to 1,950 by 2038, by its projection.

Airbus has assumed the Indian middle class population will grow