Growing demand for air travel will require more than 2,200 new aircraft by 2039, even as demand for air travel will double from pre-pandemic levels by 2030 according to Boeing.
US airframer Boeing anticipates that burgeoning demand for domestic and international air travel in India will lead to a four-fold growth in the commercial aircraft fleet by 2039. As per Boeing’s India forecast, shared as part of its annual Commercial Market Outlook (CMO), a growing economy and expanding middle class will fuel demand amongst Indian carriers for more than 2,200 new aircraft over the next 20 years, valued at $320 billion (INR 2,400,000 crore). Boeing has also forecast that India’s civil aviation industry will require nearly 90,000 new pilots, technicians and cabin crew personnel by 2039.
Boeing forecasts global demand for commercial airplanes and aftermarket services in the same period to be worth approximately $9 trillion with 43,110 new aircraft needed. India’s commercial airplane fleet as of 2019 stood at 580 aircraft.
With a passenger market that is already the world’s 3rd largest, “many more Indians will travel by airplane for leisure and business as incomes rise tied to industrialisation and an economic growth rate in South Asia that leads all emerging markets,” says David Schulte, MD of Regional Marketing, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Despite the devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic last year, with passenger traffic at the end of 2020 dropping to 2015 levels, domestic air travel has quickly climbed back to nearly 76% of pre-pandemic levels, recovering faster than most other countries and regions. While domestic air travel demand is forecast to completely recover later this year, international air travel demand is slated to recover only by 2023. COVID-19 related travel restrictions and health precautions will continue to remain a near-term challenge; however, Boeing expects passenger traffic in India will double from pre-pandemic levels by 2030.
The airframer continues to promote its single-aisle B737 Max jetliner for domestic as well as regional markets, such as short-haul flights from India to the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. It forecasts that Indian operators will require 1,960 new single-aisle airplanes over the next 20 years. Growing long-term demand for long-haul connectivity, especially to North America and Europe, will result in a 20-year requirement for 260 new widebody airplanes such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
“India’s burgeoning manufacturing and services business means the region is uniquely positioned to become a major aerospace hub,” says Salil Gupte, President, Boeing India. With its annual sourcing from India now at $1 billion, Boeing is one of numerous foreign OEM’s to have benefited from India’s growing aerospace ecosystem, which provides world-class infrastructure and talent.
Boeing presently employs 3,000 people in India, with its supply chain comprising 250 local companies manufacturing critical systems and components for the 737, 777 and 787 family of aircraft.