With increasing passenger air traffic in the country, India will need more than 2,500 new aircraft deliveries by 2042, said Boeing vice-president of Commercial Marketing Darren Hulst at a press meet held at the Wings India 2024.
More than 2,300 of those would be single-aisle along with other 400 wide-body aircraft for the long haul.
According to him, India is the only large market in Asia that evolved to pre-pandemic demand both domestically and internationally, with India’s cargo fleet expected to go up to 80 airplanes over the next 20 years. In South Asia, the carriers are projected to quadruple
the size of their fleets over the next two decades and require more than 2,705 new airplanes.
Replying to a query if there are any delays in aircraft deliveries following the recent incident of a Boeing aircraft’s door being blown off mid-air in the USA, Hulst said “We don’t anticipate any delays.” He reiterated that the focus of the company is, not numbers, but quality without compromising on schedule, adding that there would be an additional layer of scrutiny.
He added that Boeing has the right aircraft products catering to the requirements of Indian airlines, be it short, medium, or long haul.