India’s air traffic expected to grow 7 pc annually through 2041: Boeing

New Delhi [India], February 14 (ANI): Boeing forecasts India’s long-term air passenger growth rate of nearly 7 per cent annually through 2041.

The global aviation company on Tuesday unveiled its 2022 Commercial Market Outlook for India. Largely driven by the strength of the domestic market, which has recovered to 98 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, Boeing said India’s air traffic has transitioned from recovery to growth. “As a result, Indian airlines will add 7 per cent more supply in the first half of 2023, compared to 2019,” it said in a release.

“Due to the rapid growth of its domestic traffic, Boeing forecasts that 90 per cent of new airplane deliveries to India will be for single-aisle airplanes like the 737 MAX over the next 20 years,” it added.
Further, it said 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 per cent of new airplane deliveries will be for widebody airplanes.

“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 will outpace global growth at nearly 7 per cent and more than 80 per cent of new airplane deliveries to this market will be for growth, while 20 per cent of new airplanes will be for replacement of ageing jets.

This trend exemplifies India’s commitment to modernizing its fleet with more sustainable and fuel-efficient next-generation airplanes,” Schulte added.
For the cargo segment, it said the India cargo market will also continue to expand over the next two decades to meet demand.

The cargo fleet will grow from about 15 airplanes today to about 80 airplanes by 2041. These, it said, will predominantly be the converted narrow-body sized aircraft to support the domestic market.