It's expected that more people around the globe will be flying in the next few decades, although no one knows how many. There is talk of a slowdown, but this does not seem to be the case for the Indian market.
Both Boeing and Airbus expect Indian aircraft orders of up to 1,740 jets over the next 20 years (market value about $240 billion). That's more than a jet a week, making it one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets. Brisk sales like this might offset weaker sales elsewhere, should they occur. It is expected that about 75% of India sales would be for single aisle aircraft, rather than for twin-aisle wide body jets.
Why are we seeing this increase in flying in India? Frankly because it's the best travel option in the country, as roads in many places crawl and the trains are slow and inefficient. As more Indians become wealthy enough to travel by air they are doing so. To its credit, the country is spending a lot of money to improve airport facilities and associated infrastructure.
Indian budget carrier SpiceJet Ltd is in talks with Airbus and Boeing to buy about 100 planes, worth about $11 billion at list prices. Airbus has a market edge in India, so Boeing is keen to clinch the order to keep a foothold in the Indian market. For example, IndiGo finalized the purchase of 250 A320neo aircraft in August, handing Airbus its largest-ever order by number of airplanes.
India is on course to become the world's third-largest aviation market by 2020, six years ahead of a prediction. The number of Indian passengers has jumped more than 20 percent in the past year.
More on this story from Reuters at this link.
(Art at the Indira Gandhi airport, Delhi)
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