Boeing expects rise in plane orders from Indian carriers

A visitor takes selfie photographs on her phone in front of an Air India Boeing 777 at the India Aviation 2016 airshow in March. Noah Seelam / AFP

MUMBAI // A surge in plane orders by Indian carriers is expected over the coming years after recent changes to India’s aviation policies, according to Boeing.

The US plane manufacturer issued a new forecast on Tuesday, projecting a demand for 1,850 new aircraft in India, worth US$265 billion, over the next 20 years.

“India continues to have a strong commercial aerospace market and the highest domestic traffic growth in the world,” said Dinesh Keskar, the senior vice president for Asia Pacific and India sales at Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

New aviation policies – the relaxation of rules that made it difficult for Indian carriers to fly abroad and last month’s opening up of India’s aviation sector to 100 per cent foreign direct investment – would help the market grow, he said.

Boeing said that new planes in India will “continue to support the growth of low-cost carriers and replace older, less-efficient airplanes”.

It said India’s economics and demographics had driven a 21 per cent increase in the country’s domestic passenger traffic last year over the previous year.

But industry experts are concerned that India does not have the airport infrastructure to cater to the growth of its carriers.

A report by KPMG and the Associated Chambers of Commerce of India, published last month, described India’s plans to develop its airport infrastructure as “inadequate”.

Sanjiv Kapoor, the chief strategy and commercial officer of Vistara, an airline that is a joint venture between India’s Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, took to Twitter this month to voice his concerns about how the country could support the rapidly expanding fleets of India’s carriers.

“Major airports in India do not have many slots or parking left,” he said in a tweet. “Yet hundreds of A320s on order. Where will they all fly? I am really curious.”

In another tweet, he wrote: “Make no mistake, the potential for air travel growth in India is huge over time. But infra needs to come up first and fast.”

At the UK’s Farnborough International Airshow this month, GoAir, the Indian budget carrier, announced an agreement with Airbus to buy 72 A320neo aircraft. The airline also placed an order for 72 of the same type of plane in 2011, the first two of which were delivered last month.

Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, the chief executive of GoAir, said the new planes would allow the carrier “to achieve our growth targets and help us strengthening our presence in the wider region”.

“The new aircraft will help us in unlocking new domestic routes while providing a springboard for continued international network expansion in the years to come.”

The Indian carrier IndiGo has 430 A320neos on order.

Jet Airways, in which Etihad Airways owns a 24 per cent stake, booked an US$8 billion order for 75 Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft at the Dubai Airshow last November. An order of about 100 planes from SpiceJet, another Indian budget airline, is also anticipated soon.

“We … remain confident in the market and the airlines in India,” Mr Keskar said.

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