India will be one of the largest aviation markets in the world and is currently the fastest growing with the latest entrant, the late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Akasa Air, reflecting its potential, Boeing India President Salil Gupte said on Monday, August 14.
“Akasa is a good example. In addition to their original purchase of 72, they placed an order for four additional (planes). Akasa is a startup that has been one of the fastest growing startups in the history of aviation,” he told CNN-News18 in an exclusive interview.
Gupte highlighted that Air India has signed up for 190 Boeing 737 MAXes, 20 787 Dreamliners, and 10 777Xes while Akasa Air, which just celebrated its first birthday since operations, placed an order for 72 aircraft a few days ago.
He explained that these are key examples of Indian aviation's growth over the medium to long term. While those numbers were big, they are a fraction of the over 2,400 airplanes that are going to be coming into this region over the next 20 years, he said.
“We estimate that to fly those 2,400 airplanes, you will need 37,000 pilots, about the same number or maybe a slightly larger number of mechanics to maintain those. And we want to ensure that we're able to have the pilot training ecosystem here in India to train those pilots. So they don't always have to leave Indian borders,” the Boeing India President said on the announcement of the airplane-maker’s $100 million investment in infrastructure and pilot training programmes in India.
14/08/2023 CNN News18
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