Airbus predicts strong growth In India

Airbus expects demand for aircraft to grow quickly in India, led by travel as well as freight traffic, and the European company said it will look to source more materials, design and engineering services from the country. The plane maker, part of EADS, expects Indian firms to place orders for 1,100 passenger and freighter aircraft valued at about USD$105 billion over 20 years. "India will be the fastest-growing country for air travel for the next 10 years," Sanjay Sharma, senior marketing analyst at Airbus, said. Strong economic growth, greater liberalization and a "large, frustrated pent-up demand" would help the Indian air travel market grow faster than the global average, he said.

Airbus estimates the Indian air travel market will grow at an average 7.7 percent per year over the next 20 years, compared to the worldwide average of 4.7 percent. India's passenger aircraft fleet will grow five-fold in the same period, Sharma said. "While the bulk of the demand will be for single-aisle aircraft, there is a market for long-range and large aircraft, as well," Sharma said, ahead of Airbus's participation at the Aero Show in Bangalore this week. Air freight traffic would also gain as more domestic airlines entered and better infrastructure boosted profitability, he said. India's Flyington Freighters recently ordered six Airbus freighters valued at USD$1 billion, and Airbus estimates there will be demand for 165 freighter aircraft over the next 20 years.

Airbus, which made its first delivery in the country for state-owned Indian Airlines in 1976, has seven clients including Jet Airways, Deccan Aviation, Indigo, and Kingfisher Airlines, which has ordered five A380 aircraft. EADS has said it would invest would invest up to EUR2 billion euros (USD$2.58 billion) over the next 15 years in India in production and research and development facilities. An engineering centre, a fully-owned subsidiary, would be operational in the second half of this year. It was also looking at more cooperation with Indian firms in engineering, design and manufacturing, and may identify modern materials suppliers, Sharma said. State-owned Hindustan Aeronautics makes doors for the A320 planes, and EADS said last year it would extend its cooperation with HAL to other areas.

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