Dreamliners have bright future in India: Boeing
US aircraft maker Boeing expects more orders for its Dreamliners in the Indian market, which is poised for substantial growth in the coming years, according to a senior company executive. Amid the ongoing tariff issues between India and the US, Boeing India and South Asia President Salil Gupte emphasised on the two countries’ goal for industrialisation of Indian aerospace and exuded confidence that the aircraft maker will be able to see through some of these short-term challenges.
In India, Boeing 787 planes, also known as Dreamliners, are operated by Air India. The airline’s first custom-made Dreamliner post privatisation in January 2022 is set to commence commercial operations from February 1.
“B787 has an extremely bright future in India... We look forward to potentially more orders for the 787 in India coming,” Gupte told PTI in an interview. Air India has 33 Dreamliners in its fleet — 26 legacy B787-8s, six B787-9s from Vistara and the new plane. IndiGo also operates some Dreamliners taken on lease from Norse Atlantic Airways. On June 12 last year, an Air India Dreamliner operating the flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick crashed soon after take off, killing 260 people and it was also the first fatal accident involving the Dreamliner. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is probing the crash. Against this backdrop, Gupte said it was a challenging year (2025) for Boeing.
“... As we think about the Air India AI171 accident, naturally, the victims’ families, victims, and all of their loved ones remain foremost in our minds. “As it relates to the accident investigation, of course, that will go on, and we expect the Indian AAIB will issue its report. But beyond that, there’s not much that any of the OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) can comment on,” he said.
In recent years, Boeing had also faced regulatory issues, including with Dreamliners. The global demand for B787s has been incredibly robust and expect that will continue in the years to come, Gupte said. Last year, Boeing delivered 14 B787s to various airlines. In response to a query on increasing competition from Airbus, Gupte said competition is natural in the industry as he stressed that “airplanes are tools for our customers to serve their customers”.
“We believe that the number of routes and missions that our customers here will want to fly will grow for the B787. And we think there is an entire network of possibilities for which the B787 will be ideal,” he noted. Regarding tariff issues, he said Boeing has been around for 100 years where it has operated through a very broad set of circumstances, including world wars, conflicts, financial crises, and other challenges.
“Whether it is a tariff or a financial crisis or something else, in the long term, it does not affect the growth of the business... As societies become more advanced, one of the things that they do is travel more... “We are confident that we will be able to see some of these short-term challenges through,” Gupte said.
Boeing has over 265 commercial and military aircraft operating in India, which is a key market for the plane maker. The company has more than 325 suppliers and the annual sourcing from the country is worth over USD 1.25 billion. Apart from Air India, Air India Express, Akasa Air, and SpiceJet have Boeing planes in their fleets.
