Boeing sees India needing 1,300 new planes

Boeing on Wednesday projected India would require about 1,300 commercial planes worth $150 billion in the next two decades to meet the demands of its growing and more affluent population. The forecast from the world's largest aerospace company was 15 percent higher than projections of 1,150 planes for $130 billion Boeing announced in August 2010 for India's civil aviation market. "India's airlines will need 1,320 new airplanes worth $150 billion in the next 20 years," Boeing's India head Dinesh Keskar said in New Delhi. He said India's "aggressive" economic growth was the reason for its aviation boom. The latest forecast "is due to the fact that the Indian gross domestic product is growing faster than many places in the world", Keskar said. "Also, our airport infrastructure is getting better, disposable incomes for the Indians are getting better and this trend where people are able to and willing to fly for vacations will help this growth," the executive said. The introduction of highly-popular non-stop flights by several airlines between India and the United States, which did not exist five years ago, would also fuel the bonanza, he added. State governments across India are also rapidly expanding domestic airports. India's air passenger traffic, which touched 66.7 million in the financial year ended March 31, was likely to grow at 8.1 percent annually over the long-term, the Chicago-based company said. Globally, Boeing forecasts a market for 33,500 new passenger aircraft and freighters worth $4 trillion between 2011-2030. "South Asia in which India is the dominating part will have the highest growth compared to any place in the world and so with that kind of growth it will outpace China," Keskar said.