India and forecast airframe needs - Curt Lewis

India to require 1,600 new aircraft by 2034: Airbus

Airbus is forecasting that India will need over 1,600 new passenger and freighter aircraft by 2034 to keep pace with growth in demand.

In a forecast released at the India Aviation air show in Hyderabad, the European airframer estimates that the total value of the sales will come in at around $224 billion. The 1,600 aircraft comprise 1,230 single-aisle jets and 380 widebody and freighter aircraft.

The aircraft sales forecast is based on a projection that Indian traffic growth will reach 8.4% per annum over the next 20 years - above the world average of 4.6%. Domestic Indian traffic will grow at a faster rate of 9.3%.

India will become "the world's leading emerging aviation market" and "the third-largest aviation market by 2034", Airbus predicts.

"Aviation in India has a bright future," says executive vice-president of marketing and strategy Kiran Rao. "As India's industrial might grows, along with it comes economic development, wealth generation and a rise in the number of regular and first-time flyers."

Joost Van der Heijden, vice-president of marketing for Asia, expects an average of one Airbus aircraft to be delivered per week in India over the next 10 years.

In addition, Airbus forecasts that by 2035 the number of Indian cities with over one million monthly air passengers will more than triple.