India air traffic at pre-pandemic levels, says Boeing

HYDERABAD: Boeing forecasts the South Asia region will become the fastest-growing commercial aviation market with more than eight per cent annual traffic growth over the next 20 years. Supported by a strong economy, India’s rapidly expanding middle class will drive growth in regional air travel.

Carriers in South Asia, which includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, are projected to quadruple the size of their fleets over the next two decades. Airlines will require about 2,705 new planes to address growth and fleet replacement, according to Boeing’s commercial market outlook (CMO), an annual forecast of 20-year demand for commercial airplanes and related services, said Darren Hulst, Boeing vice -president of commercial marketing.

A bulk of these will support fleet growth and about 28 per cent will replace older jets with more fuel-efficient models.

According to Boeing, India is the only large economy, a large market in Asia, that has evolved to pre-pandemic levels both domestically and internationally in terms of demand. While monthly traffic in India in 2023 was seven per cent higher than what it was in 2019, in the long haul (international) traffic, India was again leading with 30 per cent higher capacity over 2019, he said adding: "By April 2024, it will be 50 per cent higher than in 2019."

“Indian low-cost carriers continue to stimulate demand and connect emerging regions with low fares, holding nearly a 90 per cent share of all domestic seats in the region. This reflects the rapid pace of the region’s recovery and economic activity, as traffic and capacity now exceed pre-pandemic levels,” he said.

The aircraft maker said the South Asia market region will require 37,000 pilots and 38,000 maintenance technicians over 20 years, driven primarily from growing demand in India.

“Indian low-cost carriers continue to stimulate demand and connect emerging regions with low fares, holding nearly a 90 per cent share of all domestic seats in the region. This reflects the rapid pace of the region’s recovery and economic activity, as traffic and capacity now exceed pre-pandemic levels,'' he said.

Deliveries of about 2,000 aircraft were affected globally in the last two or three years, mainly due to the Covid situation. According to Boeing's projection, 42,592 new airplanes would be required globally over the next 20 years.

He said it is expected the India cargo fleet will go up to 80 aeroplanes over next 20 years asserting that a massive untapped potential with only 15 freighter aircraft now.

When asked on the possible adverse impact of a recent incident involving 737 Max-9 aircraft on pending or scheduled delivery of new aircraft, Hulst replied in the negative. ``We have already announced an additional layer of quality,'' he said. He refused to speak on the details of the ongoing investigation.