New Delhi– Global aircraft manufacturer Boeing on Wednesday said that the recently approved National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) will have an impact on the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as the US-based aviation major.
“The NCAP is adding regional connectivity, it is allowing airlines to fly internationally. All that will have an impact on OEMs like Boeing,” Dinesh Keskar, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific and India Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, told IANS.
Last month, the central government passed the long awaited civil aviation policy which envisages to promote regional connectivity via several measures such as incentives, capping of air fares for a limited number of seats, and revival of existing air strips and airports.
Besides incentives, the new integrated civil aviation policy has changed the controversial norms known as the 5/20 rules — that is an airline must have five years of domestic flying and a fleet of 20 aircraft to fly abroad.
The policy has done away with the first five-year wait, but new airlines will need 20 aircraft or fly 20 per cent of their total capacity on domestic routes to start international operations.
“If we see a bigger impact of the policy which is possible, we will update this next year again,” Keskar said here at an event organised for the release of the company’s annual “Current Market Outlook” (CMO).
According to the CMO 2016, the global aircraft manufacturer expects a demand for 1,850 new airplanes in India, valued at $265 billion, over the next 20 years.
The current CMO data shows an optimistic uptrend in the sales of aircraft in the country.
In fact, the company has increased the number of aircraft it expects to be sold in the country from last year’s projected demand of 1,740 new airplanes, valued at $240 billion, over the next 20 years in India.
Keskar elaborated that the rise in expected demand was based on a number of factors such as lower fuel prices, enhanced profitability of the sector and healthy economic and passenger traffic growth in India.
Recently, passenger traffic data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) showed that India has achieved the fastest domestic passenger growth in 2015.
However, Keskar cautioned about the pace of infrastructure development which is required to meet the exponential rise in passenger traffic and growth in the industry.
“One of the only thing we need to watch out for carefully is infrastructure. If the infrastructure does not stay in pace with the growth that is happening then we would have to relook at the situation,” Keskar said.
Segment-wise, the company’s annual CMO pointed out that single-aisle airplanes such as the “Next-Generation” 737 and 737 MAX will continue to account for the largest share of new deliveries.
The company expects the airlines in India to need approximately 1,560 single-aisle airplanes in the next 20 years.
The global aircraft manufacturer explained that these new airplanes will continue to support the growth of low-cost carriers and replace older, less-efficient airplanes.
In addition, Boeing projected a worldwide demand for 39,620 new airplanes over the next 20 years, with India passenger carriers needing more than 4.6 per cent of the total global demand.
The company’s CMO is the longest running jet forecast and regarded as the most comprehensive analysis of the aviation industry. (IANS)
