Boeing is betting big on Government’s regional connectivity scheme (RCS) saying it will allow new routes to be opened up in the years to come, when smaller 70-seat aircraft will be replaced by bigger ones, such as Boeing’s 737s, following an increase in traffic on these routes.
“RCS will allow opening of new routes, thus providing more connectivity. Over the next 4-5 years, the growth on those routes will make a Boeing 737 viable. We are very bullish that if it (RCS) works out, we will be one of the beneficiaries,” said Boeing Senior Vice President, Sales, Asia Pacific and India, Dinesh Keskar.
“I think people will take a plunge and the bids are coming in, the new routes are being opened. When that happens, at the growth rate of forget 20 per cent, even at 15 percent growth rate, it will take only about 4-5 years to go from a 90-seater airplane to 150-seater airplane,” Keskar added.
Traffic growth in India is more than 20 per cent, far exceeding the global average of 7.3 per cent and the country is witnessing double digit growth here consistently for the entire year last year.
“We came very close to 100 million passengers in 2016 and I am confident that we are going to get close to 120 million passengers flying this year,” added Keskar.
Boeing also also released Current Market Outlook for India and said the country will take deliveries of 2,100 new planes worth $290 billion in the next 20 years, calling it the “highest forecast” for the country.
India’s share will account for more than 5.1 per cent of the total global demand of 41,030 aircraft, the American aeronautic giant said. Almost 85 per cent of these new planes in India are likely to be single-aisle with low-cost carriers operating more than 60 per cent of all flights.
“The increasing number of passengers combined with a strong exchange rate, low fuel prices and high load factors bode well for India’s aviation market, especially the low-cost carriers,” added Keskar.