BA Boeing Co

   By Santanu Choudhury 
 

NEW DELHI--Boeing Co. on Tuesday lifted its outlook for airplane sales in India, saying the country will need to buy 1,850 new airplanes worth $265 billion over the next 20 years.

The prediction from the Chicago-based plane maker comes after India's domestic air traffic grew 18.8% in 2015 to 80 million passengers, the fastest pace for any country in the world, the International Air Transport Association said earlier this month. Lower fuel prices, economic expansion, competitive fares and rising incomes of India's large middle class is helping boost air-travel demand.

"India continues to have a strong commercial aerospace market and the highest domestic traffic growth in the world," said Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president in-charge of Asia Pacific and India sales for commercial airplanes at Boeing. "With the new aviation policies in place, we see even greater opportunities and remain confident in the market and the airlines in India," he said.

Indian carriers have been ordering new planes in the hope that air-travel demand will stay strong and that the country will become the third-largest civil aviation market in the world after China and the U.S. by 2026, as forecast by IATA.

Earlier this month, budget carrier Go Airlines (India) Ltd. agreed to buy 72 A320neo planes from Airbus Group SE. Jet Airways (India) Ltd. ordered 75 Boeing 737 Max aircraft in November last year.

Boeing said it expects single-aisle planes such as the 737 Max and A320neo to comprise the bulk of the new orders in India. Boeing said Indian airliners would need about 1,560 of the planes, worth $180 billion, through 2035.

In its annual Current Market Outlook for India, Boeing said Indian carriers will require 280 wide-body airplanes worth $85 billion along with 10 smaller regional jets worth less than $1 billion. Boeing had in 2015 forecast a demand for 1,740 new airplanes valued at $240 billion over 20 years in India.

Indian demand will comprise more than 4.6% of the total global demand for 39,620 airplanes by 2035, Boeing said.

Write to Santanu Choudhury at santanu.choudhury@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 19, 2016 07:09 ET (11:09 GMT)

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