Airbus estimates a demand of 1600 new planes for India
Airbus estimates a demand for 1,600 new passenger and freighter planes at a combined list price of $224 billion for India till 2034, the European plane maker said Thursday.
The forecast is up by 300 planes compared to what it estimated two years ago. The plane maker also said the demand for wide-bodied planes will grow seven fold in that time. The estimate was up by 400 planes over what was presented two years earlier. India has typically been a narrow-bodied plane market catering to local air travel demand.
“Air traffic growth is driven by such factors as urbanisation, the growth in wealth, as seen by the growing middle classes, tourism and trade. India’s population is set to surpass China’s by 2025 and according to Oxford Economics, the number of Indian middle classes will top 600 million people, more than double of the US. By 2034, Indian passengers on average will each make four times as many flights as they do today,” Airbus said in a release.
“As a result, traffic serving the Indian market is set to grow at 8.4% per year over the next 20 years, well above the world average 4.6%. Domestic Indian traffic will grow more quickly at 9.3%-making India the world’s leading emerging aviation market,” it added.
Airbus said India will need 1,230 new single aisle planes and 380 widebodied planes. The plane maker will deliver one Airbus A320 Neo per week to India over the next ten years.
Deliveries of the Neos have been delayed because of technical glitches with the Pratt & Whitney engines. Airbus’ Asia Marketing head Joost van der Heijden said the issues will be resolved by June.
Earlier in the day, American aircraft manufacturer Boeing said India will need 1,740 planes at a total listed value of $240 billion.
