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While US-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing will stay away from the race to service India’s regional connectivity scheme intended to fly passengers between small towns, the company still sees benefits in how this will play out for it in the future.
“Right now, the RCS is designed for smaller aircraft with seating for 70-90 passengers,” Dinesh Keskar, Senior Vice-President, Asia-Pacific and India Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said on the sidelines of a press briefing here on Tuesday. “We have decided to stay out of the market for such aircraft.
“However, as these routes open up and traffic increases, in say, five years, that is when we can bring in aircraft like the 150-seater Boeing 737 Max 7. So in the long-term, we do stand to benefit from the RCS.”
Keskar added that the commercial aircraft manufacturing industry will wait to see how RCS pans out over the next few years. “What makes the scheme viable is the government funding that is assured. But even then, airlines need to stay profitable on these routes, even when there are significant changes to fuel prices, the exchange rate or the load factors in the future.”
Boeing, which is fighting off stiff competition from rivals Airbus and Bombardier in the global market, is keen to show off the 737 MAX family of aircraft, closely configured to single-body aircraft made by Airbus, but, Boeing says, more fuel-efficient and hence, likely to help airlines turn over profits faster.
“The 737 MAX is the fastest-selling airplane in Boeing history because customers throughout the world, including India, want its combination of performance, flexibility and efficiency,” said Keskar. “Boeing also continues to offer the most complete family of wide-body airplanes, as evidenced by our more than 85 percent in-service market share in India.”
Boeing forecasts a demand for 2,100 new airplanes in India, valued at $290 billion, over the next 20 years. The company released the new numbers this week as part of its annual Current Market Outlook (CMO) briefings for India.
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