India requires 2,210 aircraft over next 20 years, says Airbus

Hyderabad, March 24: Aircraft maker Airbus has forecast that India will require 2,210 new aircraft over the next 20 years when the country's air passenger traffic is expected to grow at 6.2 per cent per annum, the highest in the world.

The fleet could comprise 1,770 new small and 440 medium and large aircraft. To serve its growing aviation industry, India will also require an additional 34,000 pilots and 45,000 technicians by 2040. The forecast was announced by Airbus on the sidelines of Wings India 2022, Asia's largest civil aviation show which began here on Thursday.

Airbus said it would deliver more than one aircraft to India every week for the next 10 years. "Over the next decade, India will grow to have the largest population in the world, its economy will grow the fastest among the G20 nations, and a burgeoning middle class will spend more on air travel. As a result, passenger traffic in India will grow at 6.2 per cent per annum by 2040, the fastest among the major economies and well above the global average of 3.9 per cent," said Brent McBratney, Head of Airline Marketing, Airbus India and South Asia.

India has witnessed an upward trend in the growth of air traffic over the last 10 years, with domestic traffic growing almost threefold and international traffic more than doubling. Remi Maillard, President and MD, Airbus India and South Asia, said India has huge untapped potential in the long-haul market.

On international routes, India has only about 1/10th of the widebody fleet installed in similar markets, depriving homegrown carriers of a larger share of the profitable long-haul routes now dominated by foreign airlines. "We have seen India's domestic market develop strongly with our flagship A320 aircraft. It is time now for Indian carriers to unlock the potential of international travel in and out of India, leveraging the country's demographic, economic and geographic dividends," said Remi Maillard.

"Whether it is expanding existing airlines or supporting new airlines, there must now be a re-fleeting and rethinking about future-oriented solutions with technology that paves the way for sustainable long-range travel. The A350 is the perfect solution for that," he said. Airbus is displaying the A350 at the airshow which will continue till March 27.

The complete Airbus product line comprises the only aircraft specifically designed for the small single-aisle market, the A220, the world's best-selling A320 Family, the mid-size widebody A330/330neo and the Long-Range Leader, the A350. Maillard said Airbus has been ramping up focus on sourcing core capabilities across product life cycle from India.

Currently, the annual sourcing of Airbus from India is at more than $650 million from 45 suppliers. Airbus also supports 7,000 jobs, including about 1,650 engineers in India.