PTI
Mumbai
Boeing Corporation on Tuesday sounded bullish about the Indian aviation sector, the fastest-growing market in the world in terms of passenger traffic, saying the country will need as many as 1,850 new airplanes worth USD 265 billion over the next 20 years.
The Seattle-based aircraft maker had last year predicted a demand for 1,740 new airplanes valued at USD 240 billion over the next 20 years.
This rising demand will be driven by single-aisle planes such as the 737 Max and Next-Generation 737s from Boeing and A320 Neos from its arch rival Airbus, according to Dinesh Keskar, Senior Vice-President for Asia Pacific and India, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
He was talking to reporters here while releasing Boeing's 'Current market outlook for India' report.
Giving a break-up of the demand, Keskar said single-aisle planes (that have 90-230 seats) will lead the chart with a demand for 1,560 aircraft worth USD 180 billion, followed by 280 wide-body ones worth around USD 85 billion that can carry over 200 passengers.
Regional jets with 10-seater capacity will constitute 90 units out of the total demand, or around USD 1 billion in value.
This will make India contributing to over 4.6 per cent of the global demand for 39,620 airplanes by 2035, and 4.5 per cent of world demand in terms of value, Keskar said, adding these new planes will continue to support growth of low-cost carriers and replace older ones.
