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India needs 215 more aircraft by 2017 to match 5.5 pc market growth, forecasts Airbus

Air passenger traffic in India is growing annually around 5.5 per cent and this will necessitate airline companies in the country to undertake sizeable expansion and renewal of their aircraft fleets to cope with the increasing demand, according to the latest market forecast by Airbus Industrie.

Releasing the forecast, Airbus Industrie India president Kiran Rao said airline companies, both from the public and private sectors, will require to acquire 215 aircraft worth $ 18.6 billion between now and 2017. This also included the purchase of new aircraft for replacing ageing aircraft.

The choice of new aircraft would be split almost equally between the single-aisle category and wide bodies. The changing market in favour of non-stop flights to US and Australia, there would also be greater demand for wide-bodied aircraft from the national carrier, he said.

He said that Airbus will be competing in both segments -- of the single aisle market with its A318/A319/A320/A321 family of aircraft, and of the wide-body market with its A300/A310 and A330/A340 families.

The company felt its new 100-seater A318 aircraft will find a buyer in Alliance Air which is fast expanding its regional routes.

The study says that in Asia there may be a shortfall in short-term aircraft ordering, but this will be compensated by increased long-term ordering.

Rao disclosed that Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has been awarded a $ 50 million contract to build passenger doors for the A320 aircraft.

Airbus is also executing a $ 8 million worth job at Pune with ComputerVision's subsidiary, Computer Research and Development India Private Limited, for a computer programming work.

UNI