Airbus to deliver one plane a week in India for next 10 years

Hyderabad: Airlines in India will take delivery of one Airbus aircraft every week for the next decade, French aircraft manufacturer Airbus said in a statement on Friday.

Airbus, which currently has more than 300 aircraft in operation in India flown by various airlines, has 530 aircraft in its India order book, it said in its 20-year India Market Forecast at aviation event Wings India 2018.

India, said Airbus, will need as many as 1,750 new passenger and cargo aircraft over the next two decades to meet the exponential rise in both passenger and cargo traffic.

“By 2036, Indians will each make four times as many flights as today,” it said, adding that traffic serving the Indian market is forecast to grow 8.1% per year over the next 20 years, almost twice as fast as the world average of 4.4%.

While much of the future air traffic growth is expected to be driven by the fast expanding economy, rising wealth and urbanization, ambitious government-backed regional connectivity programmes are also set to enhance demand for air travel, added Airbus.

India is set to overtake the UK to become the third largest air passenger market by 2025. China will be the top market, followed by the US, the International Air Transport Association said in a report in October 2017.

Domestic Indian traffic is expected to grow 5.5 times over the next 20 years (2017-2036), reaching the same level as the US today, making it one of the world’s fastest growing markets, Airbus said in its latest India Market Forecast.

“Make in India is at the heart of our strategy. Airbus has the largest footprint in India of any international aircraft manufacturer, nationwide across all aircraft programmes. Our sourcing volume has grown 16 times over the past 10 years and it is currently at more than US$550 million annually,” said Srinivasan Dwarakanath, president of Airbus Commercial Aircraft in India.

Bloomberg had on 8 March reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter, that India’s biggest airline IndiGo plans to order as many as 50 Airbus A330 wide-body jets as it seeks to expand beyond short-haul flights.

IndiGo aims to take the upgraded A330neo version, said the people, who asked not to be named as the discussions aren’t public. The deal would be worth $13 billion at list prices for the smaller of two variants, with some aircraft options to be confirmed later.

Bloomberg contributed to this story.