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Jul 2007

Boeing wants to sell 900 aircraft to India

     New Delhi: US aircraft manufacturer Boeing has said it expects airline companies in India to buy over 900 new planes, worth over 86 b dollars, in the coming 20 years. "India will need 911 airplanes worth 86 billion dollars. The breakdown is going to be- in terms of units- about three-fourth will be 737, A320 type aircrafts, 20 per cent is going to be 787,777, A-350 type of aircrafts," Dinesh Keskar, Boeing's senior vice president for commercial airplanes, told reporters. Keskar said Boeing has predicted greater demand for smaller aircrafts, with increasing emphasis on adding frequencies and point-to-point non-stop flights. "India needs fragmentation. People want to go in smaller sized airplanes, in comfort and luxury, and go straight to their destination," Keskar said. Keskar said India's bid to boost its creaking aviation sector would require the harnessing of its existing infrastructure better. "There are so many airfields in India-they just need to be developed and there are those which are there and just need to be utilised," he said. According to Boeing estimates, the aviation sector in the country will grow at an average of 12 per cent per year over the next 20 years, compared to the worldwide average of just 4.7 percent. Boeing has firm orders for more than 140 aircraft worth 20 billion dollars from various aviation companies of the country including Jet Airways, Air India and SpiceJet. Air India has already received the first plane of a 68 aircraft order in the form of a long-range Boeing 777-200 that will fly non-stop between Mumbai and New York. Boeing had delivered 18 aircraft to Indian carriers between January and July this year worth more than 2.3 billion dollars. Apart from passenger planes, Boeing is also among several global contenders that want to sell 126 advanced multi-role fighter jets to India.
-Jul 30, 2007