Indian carriers intend to add 110-120 planes a year as they look to rebuild their business after the third wave of Covid-19 pandemic, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Friday.
Domestic airlines added more than 100 planes for the first time in 2018 with IndiGo accounting for half of 120 inductions. But the growth slowed down with the collapse of Jet Airways in 2019 and the spread of Covid-19 infections in 2020.
At present, Indian airlines have a combined fleet of 710 aircraft, up from 400 eight years ago. While most of the aircraft inductions have been led by narrow-body Airbus A320 or Boeing 737 aircraft, Scindia called upon airlines to consider inducting widebody aircraft that fly the long haul routes.
