India is fuelling a substancial part of the world aerospace industry.
Here is a look at orders by India based and Indian owned airlines in the past 6 months :
----------------------------------
IndiGo airlines - (100) $6 billion deal with Airbus for 100 A320
Air India - (50) $6.9 billion order to Boeing for eight 777-300 long-haul jetliners, 15 737-200 medium range aircraft and 27 787 Dreamliners; 50 in
all
Indian Airlines - (44) 20 Airbus A-319s, 19 A-321s and 4 A-320s in a 2.2 billion dollar deal
Kingfisher Airlines -(33) 30 A320s and 3 A319s + five A380 planned
Jet Airways -(30) 10 Boeing 777s and 10 737s for $2.8 billion. + 10 A330s from Airbus
SpiceJet - 20 Boeing 737-800
Deccan Airlines - 11 Airbus A-320s
--------------------------
And in the defence sector :
Indian Air Force : 126 multirole aircrafts for a 9 billion $ deal.
Competing aircrafts are : Mirage-2000 5, JAS-39 Gripen, F-16 block 70, Mig-29 M2i, F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet. (Rafale and Eurofighter not included
despite being offered)
Indian Navy carrier aircraft purchase : $740 million for 16 Mig-29 K-2008 ... option for 24 more.
AWACS purchase for IAF : 6 Israeli Phalcon AWACS for 1.2 billion $
Indian Army Aviation Corps 197 Helicopter purchase for 600 million $ : Bell 407 v/s Eurocopters FENNEC v/s Kamov 226
$200 million upgrade programme for the Sea Harriers of the carrier INS Viraat
-----------------------------------------------------------------
At the Aero India 2005, about 325 leading aerospace and aviation firms, and high-level delegations from 45 countries are participating in the biennial
event.
Thanks to the burgeoning economy and the country's open skies policy, which has ushered in a huge dose of liberalization over the last 10 months, the
country's civil aviation sector is virtually exploding. Global aircraft manufacturers in turn are talking of numbers unimaginable even a few months
back. By the time the Paris fest ended, Indian carriers had ordered 150 aircraft - mostly from Boeing and Airbus - worth $13 billion, to be delivered
over the next 6-7 years. About seven Indian airlines companies have reportedly committed to buying another 350 aircraft worth over $25 billion over
the next 5-7 years. Suddenly, India began to look hot in the global aviation industry. "India is today one of the world's most promising markets,"
gushed John Leahy, chief commercial officer for Airbus.
The aviation boom has implications for other sectors within the country as well. For instance, aviation-related information technology (IT)
outsourcing service providers are expecting new businesses worth $4 billion in the next few years. The embedded systems group of Wipro, one of the top
five IT services companies, is reportedly aiming for $1 billion worth of aerospace outsourcing business this year alone. Industry sources say that
following the Paris Air Show, Boeing and Airbus have started seeking a greater level of outsourcing from local vendors like HCL Technology and
Vidhyacom among others.
Besides, taking advantage of the shortage of airline crew staff and pilots, aviation training institutions like Carver Flying Academy, the Institute
of Aviation and Aviation Safety, and Franklin Institute are doing booming business. As a result of the boom, India will need 150,000 trained airline
staff in the next five years, a demand expected to outstrip supply by at least a factor of three, resulting in an almost 40% jump in pay as carriers
bid up salaries.
Undoubtedly, the biggest beneficiaries have been Indian air travelers. But in order to make their presence felt in a market that is getting fiercely
competitive, local airlines are indulging in price wars that many say are unhealthy and could eventually lead to the doom of a few budget airlines. A
few months from now, about 160,000 new seats are expected to be added, a fact that's already forcing existing airlines to announce innovative and
unprecedented airfares. For instance, India's first budget airline, Air Deccan, reserves a few seats in each of its flights in the Delhi-Mumbai
sector for as little as Rs500 (about $11). The cheapest price on the route is about $90. Lately, Air Deccan has even started offering seats for Rs1
(about 2 US cents). Going a step forward, Jeh Wadia, the managing director of GoAir, the budget airlines slated to be launched in October, has
declared that his ticket prices will be so competitive that it would "attract bus travelers to opt for a flight in GoAir". at the end of the
show.
more...
[edit on 28-7-2005 by Stealth Spy]