Over the next two decades, the global commercial aircraft fleet size is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 4 per cent. Around 45,000 new aircraft are likely to be delivered globally between 2018 and 2040, suggests a report ‘Vision 2040 for the civil aviation industry in India’ by FICCI and KPMG. The growth will be driven by socioeconomic changes in emerging economies, especially in India, China, South East Asia and the Middle East. These factors include rising incomes and aspirations, lower oil prices, fierce competition between airlines and increasing value of ‘time’.
For India, Boeing raised its long-term forecast for commercial airplanes to 2,300 new jets – valued at $320 billion – over the next 20 years. Nearly 84 per cent of those are expected to be narrow bodies. According to Boeing, with more than 5 per cent of the world’s fleet expected to operate in India by 2037, commercial services like flight training, engineering and maintenance and digital analytics etc., will be the key drivers of growth. In the South Asian market, including India, Boeing forecasts a commercial services market valued at USD 430 billion over the next 20 years.