Indian would require 1,032 aircraft to serve the strong demand for passenger air travel and freight and for replacing the ageing fleet with fuel-efficient craft between now and 2028, according to Miranda Mills, vice-president (sales), Airbus (India).
Giving out Airbus’ global market forecast here at the India Aviation 2010 on Thursday, she said the Indian aircraft requirement would be the world’s fifth-biggest, valued at over $138 billion. Of the 993 passenger aircraft needed, 638 would be single aisles (like A320), 287 twin aisles (like A350 XB) and 68 very large aircraft (like A380).
By 2028, the Indian passenger fleet would quadruple to 1,163 aircraft and the freighter market would have grown nearly 20-fold to 210 aircraft. India would be the fastest-growing country for air travel in the next 10 years, with domestic traffic increasing by an average 12.2 per cent per year.
Traffic growth would be among the world’s highest, averaging 7.3 per cent over the next two decades, compared with the world average of 4.7 per cent, she said.
“The Indian economy is showing signs of rebounding and this will translate to new aircraft orders by 2012,” she said.
