India will need 2,100 planes in next 20 years: Boeing

New Delhi: Boeing today said India will take deliveries of 2,100 new planes worth USD 290 billion in the next 20 years, calling it the “highest forecast” for the country.

India’s share will account for more than 5.1 per cent of the total global demand of 41,030 aircraft, the American aeronautic giant said.

According to Boeing’s Current Market Outlook released today, almost 85 per cent of these new planes in India are likely to be single-aisle with low-cost carriers operating more than 60 per cent of all flights.

“The increasing number of passengers combined with a strong exchange rate, low fuel prices and high load factors bode well for India’s aviation market, especially the low-cost carriers,” said Dinesh Keskar, senior vice-president, Asia Pacific and India Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

Boeing also expects to benefit from the government’s regional connectivity scheme (RCS) in the years to come, when smaller 70-seat aircraft will be replaced by bigger ones, such as Boeing’s 737s, following an increase in traffic on these routes.

“RCS will allow opening of new routes, thus providing more connectivity. Over the next 4-5 years, the growth on those routes will make a Boeing 737 viable. We are very bullish that if it (RCS) works out, we will be one of the beneficiaries,” Keskar said.

The passenger traffic in South Asia is expected to grow at a rate of 8 per cent, followed by China at 6.2 per cent.

The growth rate in the region is likely to be more than double that of Europe (3.7 per cent) and North America (3 per cent).