Boeing Revises Indian Aircraft Forecast

Boeing expects Indian carriers to order 1,850 new aircraft worth USD$265 billion over the next 20 years, up from an earlier forecast, mainly due to new aviation rules that will boost demand.

In March, the company forecast that demand from India would add up to orders for 1,740 planes over 20 years.

"India continues to have a strong commercial aerospace market and the highest domestic traffic growth in the world," said Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president, Asia Pacific and India sales at Boeing commercial planes.

"With the new aviation policies in place, we even see greater opportunities, and remain confident in the market and airlines sector in India," Keskar said.

Last month, India overhauled regulations governing its aviation industry, easing rules for domestic carriers to fly overseas and spreading the country's air travel boom to smaller cities by capping airfares and opening new airports.

Boeing said single-aisle planes will make up the bulk of new deliveries, with India likely to need about 1,560 such aircraft.

Boeing says it has more than 85 percent share of the wide-body market in India, while Airbus sells the bulk of small planes preferred by low-cost carriers such as IndiGo.

LCCs dominate Indian skies and account for more than 60 percent of the flights in the country.

Boeing expects worldwide demand for 39,620 aircraft over the next 20 years, putting India's share of the total at less than 5 percent.