Global aviation giants eye $300 bn India potential

New Delhi: Despite daily losses of Rs 10-15 crore being incurred by some Indian carriers due to the general economic downturn, global aerospace g
iants continue to make a strong pitch for a share in the country's aviation pie, officially estimated at $300 billion by 2020, experts said.
"Much of the world is flat or declining. Only India is growing," said Daniel J Magoon, director of Indian business development, transportation and security solutions with the US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin.
"We want to become the supplier of choice for air traffic control and security systems," Magoon told IANS, adding his job was to change the company's business mix in India from major supplier of wares to the defence sector to gaining a foothold in the civil aviation space.
India's flight penetration is at a mere 0.2 per capita, compared to 2.2 in the US and 1.2 in China, and with only 40 busy airports serving a population of more than a billion, companies like Lockheed sees a huge growth potential here.
And it was none other than Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, who said in Hyderabad recently during a major civil aviation show that India offered a $300 billion market by 2020 for new aircraft, infrastructure and air traffic control, navigation and security systems.
07/11/08 IANS/Economic Times

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Categories: Foreign Nov 2008, Indian Aviation- In General Nov 2008