Airbus aims to deliver 1 aircraft per week over 10 years in India

Hyderabad: European aviation major Airbus on Friday said it expects to deliver one aircraft per week on an average to Indian carriers over the next 10 years, even as it projects a need for 1,750 new planes over the next 20 years.

"Airbus will be delivering one plane on an average per week to airlines in India over the next 10 years," Airbus Commercial Aircraft, India president Srinivasan Dwarakanath, said at aviation event Wings India here on Friday.

The company in its latest India market forecast estimated that the country would need 1,750 new aircrafts over the next 20 years (2017-2036), comprising 1,320 single-aisle and 430 wide-body aircrafts, valued at USD 255 billion.

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

Airbus said that Indians will each make four times as many flights as today by 2036, leading to  8.1 per cent growth every year in passenger traffic over the next 20 years, almost twice as fast as the global average of 4.4 per cent.

"Domestic traffic in India is expected to grow five-and-half times over the next 20 years, reaching the same level as the domestic traffic in the US today, making it one of the world's fastest growing markets," the report said.

According to Dwarakanath, India is set to become the world's third largest aviation market by 2019/20 and Airbus is well positioned to partner its growth with backlog orders of over 530 aircraft to date.

The company has over 300 planes in operations at present in India. Stressing on the fact that 'Make in India' is at the heart of the company's strategy, he said, Airbus' sourcing volume has grown 16 times over the past 10 years and is currently at more than USD 550 million annually.