Industry Airbus forecasts high demand in India

With over 1.2 billion people, India is the second-most populous country in the world. The two busiest airports in the country, Indira Gandhi International Airport in Dehli and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai have together handled over 100 million passengers in 2017.

Europe’s aircraft manufacturer Airbus sees itself as a key player on this growing aircraft market. In its forecast for the years 2017 to 2036, Airbus sees a demand for 1750 aircraft valued at around $255 billion. According to the forecast, India will become the third largest aviation market by 2019/2020 after China and the US. In a release, published by the IATA, India was ranked as seventh largest market behind countries like Japan, Spain, the UK and Germany in 2016. The reason for the growth of the Indian aviation market is a fast growing middle class with higher income and a growing demand for business and leisure travel on the domestic and international market. By 2036, Indians will each make four times as many flights as today.

Currently, the Indian aviation market is growing by 8,1% per year. To handle this growing demand, Airbus forecasts a demand for 1320 single-aisle aircraft and 430 wide-body jets.  

Indian airlines have backlog orders of over 530 Airbus aircraft to date. According to the press release, Airbus will deliver one aircraft per week to an Indian customer in the next ten years.

Several airlines are currently operating in India. The Indian flag carrier Air India, which operates over 110 aircraft together with its subsidiaries, is the largest international carrier out of India but only the third largest carrier on the domestic market. The Gurgaon-based low cost carrier IndiGo is the largest Indian airline by the number of annual passengers. IndiGo operates a fleet of over 160 aircraft, mostly Airbus A320, and has ordered a total of 405 latest generation A320Neo for its fleet expansion. For its regional operations, IndiGo will receive 50 ATR72-600 in the next months. Jet Airways is the second largest carrier in India with a fleet of 119 Airbus and Boeing aircraft. The carrier offers long-haul flights and operates most of US flights via its European hub in Amsterdam. Several smaller airlines like the low cost carrier SpiceJet or the Tata Group airline Vistara have further demand for new aircraft.

Airbus and its competitors will try to convince Indian customers for their products. With the single-aisle A320Neo family and the long-haul products A330Neo, A350 and A380, Airbus sees itself meeting all the demands of the Indian market. Boeing with its similar product portfolio consisting of the Boeing 737 MAX, B787, B777 and the Boeing 747-8 Jumbojet is Airbus’ major competitor. Jet Airways and Spicejet have ordered over 180 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft which will be delivered in the next years. Smaller aircraft manufacturers like Bombardier or the Chinese Comac with its C919 could become an interesting alternative for the Indian market.