By IANS,
Hyderabad : European plane maker Airbus Thursday forecast that Indian carriers will require 1,043 new aircraft valued at $145 billion by 2030. This includes 1,020 passenger and 23 freighter planes.
India’s market for new aircraft makes it the world’s fourth largest both in terms of number and value.
Joost Van Der Heijden, Airbus marketing head for Africa, India, South East Asia and Japan, told a news conference during India Aviation 2012 here that of the requirement for 1,020 new passenger aircraft, some 860 will be for growth and 160 to replace the oldest aircraft in the existing fleet of 327.
“By 2030, this means that India’s passenger fleet will more than triple to some 1,180 aircraft.”
According to him Indian annual passenger traffic growth rates of 7.2 percent are well above the regional Asia Pacific average growth rate of 5.9 percent and the world average of 4.8 percent.
The new passenger aircraft include 646 single aisles like the A-320 and A-320neo family, 308 twin aisles like the A-350 XWB and A-330, and 66 very large aircraft such as the A-380.
He believed growing urbanization and population concentrations, combined with a growing middle class and dynamic economic growth, are driving demand and this trend is expected to continue.
“Despite near-term challenges, the Indian economy is forecast to continue expanding, helping India’s growth in domestic air travel to reach even higher growth rates of nearly 10 percent annually, making it one of the fastest growing aviation markets anywhere in the world,” he added.
Srinivasan Dwarakanath, vice president, international cooperation Asia-Pacific and Middle East, said half of all A-320 forward doors and all flap track beams are produced in India.
The Airbus Engineering Centre India in Bangalore employs over 270 highly skilled local engineers and it is expected to grow to 450 over the next three years.
Dwarakanath said Airbus’ parent company EADS was in discussions with some airlines for setting up a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in India.