Hyderabad, March 24 (PTI): With a buoyant aviation market, India needs 2,210 new aircraft over the next two decades, a senior official of Airbus said on Thursday.
Brent McBratney, head of (airline marketing-India and South Asia) Airbus, said the fleet could comprise 1,770 new small and 440 medium and large aircraft.
“This is what we are taking for the next 20 years. India requires 2,210 aircraft for replacement and growth between the years 2021 and 2040,” he told reporters on the sidelines of Wings India 2022.
The majority of the aeroplanes is going to be in A320 and A220 category for small operations. As a result, 1770 new small and 440 medium and large aircraft are estimated to meet the overall demand, the official further said.
Betting big on growth in India, he said the air passenger traffic in the country is expected to grow at (an average of both domestic and international passengers) 6.2 per cent during the next two decades.
He said that to meet the demand, India needs 34,000 additional pilots and 45,000 technicians by 2040.
Remi Maillard, president and managing director of Airbus (India and South Asia), said 94 per cent of the long-haul market of India is catered to by foreign carriers and there is lot of scope for the Indian players to capture the market.
Making a pitch for the European aircraft-maker’s A350 for the Indian market, Maillard said the plane would play a strategic role in the transformation of the aviation market in India when it comes to long-haul journeys.
According to him, the growth of wide-bodied aircraft is stagnant in India while there is a phenomenal surge in the demand for single-aisle fleet.
Air traffic in India has multiplied by nine in the past 20 years and the country has established itself as the third largest domestic ( aviation) market in the world, he said.
“The growth in the last 20 years is formidable. The potential remains significant. Because the fleet per capita index in India remains limited to 2.12 which is more than three times lower than countries such as China or Indonesia. This is why we believe that the centre of gravity of aviation is moving East and there is a high trajectory to land in India,” he said.
The domestic travellers in India grew three-fold while the international traffic more than doubled during the last 10 years, he added. PTI GDK VVK NVG NVG
