New Delhi: US aircraft maker Boeing Friday said it is bullish on India, which is also a “very challenging market” in terms of high fuel cost and low fares, and also stressed that it will work with stakeholders to mitigate issues in the wake of lessors’ concerns over the crisis at Go First.
Boeing, which has a significant presence in India, asserted that it is bullish about the Indian market, which also has some unique challenges.
Ryan Weir, Vice President of Commercial Sales and Marketing for India, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said India has huge sales potential.
To a query about lessors raising concerns about not being able to take back the planes leased to Go First, he said the aircraft maker is working with the stakeholders to understand the issues.
“We are certainly working with customers to identify any impacts… We are working with lessors to understand their perspectives as well. We will continue to work with all the stakeholders to understand and to the best of our abilities mitigate the impact,” he said.
Lessors have raised concerns about the National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) decision to impose a moratorium on Go First assets that also bar the deregistration of planes leased by the airline.
Dave Schulte, Managing Director of Regional Marketing at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said the aircraft maker is “bullish” on the Indian market, which also has some “unique challenges”.
According to him, high fuel costs, lowest fares and changing currency rates with respect to the US dollar are the three main challenges, he noted.
“So highest costs, lowest fares, it is a very challenging market. There will be ups and downs… It is the third largest aviation market in the world and we are bullish on the market,” he said.
They were speaking to reporters at the new office of Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Gurugram. Earlier this year, Boeing projected that India will require around 2,210 new planes in the next two decades and out of them, 1,983 units will be single-aisle jets.
It also estimated a nearly 7 per cent annual domestic air traffic growth through 2041 for the Indian market.
On whether the Go First crisis will have an impact on the bullish outlook for the country’s aviation market, Boeing India President Salil Gupte said he does not feel so and that growth will continue.
“In general, we don’t feel that the trajectory of the market changes at all in terms of the growth and macro trends… Progress is never a straight line and there are always ups and downs.
“Ultimately, growth in India will continue even as we work through the challenges that Go First is going through today,” he told PTI in an interview.
About Boeing 777X aircraft, officials said the first delivery is expected in 2025 and there are a few launch customers but did not disclose specific details.
“We are very proud about the work Indian teams are doing (regarding 777X)… Every single 777X is going to have a little bit of India in it,” Gupte said, adding that every single Boeing plane has some manufacturing that is done in India.
PTI