India requires 2,210 new airplanes by 2041: Boeing

An Air India Boeing 777 plane.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

India will require approximately 2,210 new airplanes over the next two decades of which 1,983 units will be for single-aisle jets, while 227 units or 10% of new airplane deliveries will be for widebody airplanes, says a commercial market outlook for India released by Boeing here on Tuesday.

Due to the rapid growth of its domestic traffic, Boeing forecasts that 90% of new airplane deliveries to India would be for single-aisle airplanes like the 737 MAX over the next 20 years, as per the outlook.

“The Indian market is recovering rapidly and its domestic capacity has exceeded 2019 levels, with domestic traffic expected to double by the end of this decade,” said Dave Schulte, Boeing Commercial Marketing Managing Director for Asia Pacific.

Indian carriers would outpace global growth at nearly 7% and more than 80% of new airplane deliveries to this market would be for growth, while 20% of new airplanes would be for replacement of aging jets, he elaborated.

“This trend exemplifies India’s commitment to modernising its fleet with more sustainable and fuel-efficient next-generation airplanes,’‘ he added.

In addition, India’s cargo market would also continue to expand over the next two decades to meet growing demand, Boeing said.

The country’s cargo fleet will grow from about 15 airplanes at present to about 80 airplanes by 2041. These will predominantly be the converted narrow-body sized aircraft to support domestic and regional growth, as well as a number of production and conversion widebody freighters to support global operations, according to the Boeing outlook.

Boeing’s analysis of market dynamics showed the resilience of the industry with many domestic markets nearly or fully recovered from pandemic impact, while international traffic gains momentum as restrictions ease.

The airplane maker forecasts a market value of $7.2 trillion for new airplane deliveries, with the global fleet increasing by 80% through 2041 compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Of this, the value of the commercial segment will be $3.6 trillion, as per Boeing’s market forecast for India.