Aero India 2025: What are rival giants Boeing and Airbus expecting?

India is by far one of the most lucrative, underexplored markets in the world when it comes to aviation. Air traffic in the country is booming, thanks in part to its large population, and in part to government initiatives seeking to make air travel more accessible to a larger chunk of the population.

The potential and allure of the domestic Indian aviation market– the third largest in the world– will be on full display at the flagship Aero India exhibition that begins on Monday (February 10).

Eyeing the big prize will be the big players: Airbus and Boeing. The rival giants, whose names are synonymous with civil aviation worldwide, will be present at the five-day exhibition.

“The kind of revolution we have seen in the Indian domestic market in the last few years is now happening in the long-haul market,” said Remi Maillard, Airbus India and South Asia chief, adding the company was “leveraging India’s locational advantage, demographic dividend and economic growth”.

“Per capita air travel remains low in India at a mere 0.12, compared to 0.46 in China”, Maillard said. He said that this was a “telling comment on the potential of the Indian aviation market”.

Airbus already has a big piece of the proverbial pie in India. For the Europe-based company, nearly one-tenth of its global commercial aircraft delivered last year went to India.

Boeing India head Salil Gupte said Boeing was expecting more orders for large aircraft capable of long-haul flights, which he believes will make up 15 per cent of India’s total fleet within the next 20 years.

Boeing forecasts that the Indian market will need at least 2,835 new aircraft by this deadline– three-quarters for market growth, and the rest as replacement.

Railways remain hugely popular but travelling by trains crisscrossing a country about three-quarters the area of the European Union is often slow and chaotic.

Boeing estimates that it would take just about two per cent of the 18 million daily train users– compared with 430,000 air passengers– to switch to flying for the air market to double.

India’s civil aviation ministry proudly highlights the “soaring skies” in a sector that is “experiencing remarkable growth.”

According to forecasts by Boeing, this growth is expected to result in an increase in air traffic in South Asia, particularly in India, of more than seven percent annually until 2043.

To add to both the companies’ delights, there is India’s overflowing order basket.

Air India secured a significant contract in 2023 for 470 aircraft, which includes 250 from Airbus and 220 from Boeing. Additionally, the airline placed an order for 100 more Airbus planes last year.

IndiGo, India’s largest low-cost airline, is also eager to expand its fleet. In 2023, it made the largest order in civil aviation history by placing an order for 500 aircraft from Airbus. Last year, IndiGo ordered 30 additional planes.