Winning Bizness Desk

Mumbai. American aircraft maker Boeing has opined that fast emerging India may need 31,000 pilots and 26,000 mechanics in the next 20 years to foot the demands of the aviation industry. The company made this forecast amid rising orders from aircraft original equipment manufacturers. Speaking separately during an event of industry body CII, Boeing India President Salil Gupte also said that the South Asian market is expected to remain the fastest growing market globally for the next 20 years. He told reporters, “Looking at the number of aircraft that are coming to India, there will be a need of more than 31,000 pilots and 26,000 mechanics in the next 20 years. It is as important a part of the Indian growth story as the aircraft order."

Focus on strengthening the infrastructure

A top Boeing India official said that considering India's air traffic growth, there will be a need to focus a lot on strengthening the infrastructure. This includes airports as well as pilots and other things. Tata Group's Air India had last month announced orders for a total of 470 aircraft from both Boeing and European major Airbus. Boeing last September projected that India's air traffic would grow by about seven per cent by 2040. Gupte also said that the recovery in air travel demand after coming out of the pandemic has stunned the world and Boeing does not see any impact of the financial crisis on the growth of air travel.

Tata Group on expansion mode

It may be mentioned here that Tata Group-owned Air India had last month announced placing orders for a total of 470 planes with both Boeing and European aviation major Airbus. Last September, Boeing had projected India's air traffic growth at around 7 per cent through 2040. There is a huge market for narrow body aircraft for Boeing in India, Gupte said and added that 90 per cent of the market over the next 20 years is going to be a narrow body market and we expect we will be successful in competing for those every single campaign."