Demand for pilots, cabin crew and technicians will quadruple to 129,000: Boeing
Dubai: According to American aircraft manufacturer Boeing’s regional Commercial Market Outlook, Indian and South Asian carriers would quadruple their present fleet size by 2034, adding 2,835 commercial jets.
Building on the fleet’s steady rise over the past ten years, the industry will continue to grow as demand increases. According to the report, air traffic in the area will increase by more than 7% a year until 2043, contributing to the expansion. Boeing disclosed that policies promoting the liberalization of air travel, enhanced connectivity, and steady economic growth will be the main drivers of this.
“Due to robust economic and trade expansion, increasing household incomes, and investments in infrastructure and development, the India and South Asia region remains the world’s fastest-growing commercial aviation market,” stated Ashwin Naidu, managing director of commercial marketing for India and South Asia at Boeing.
People will have more access to air travel, as our CMO demonstrates, and the region’s airlines will need a modern, fuel-efficient fleet to fulfill the growing demand over the next 20 years, he said.
India’s aviation sector is poised for historic expansion, according to experts. With 240 million tickets available in both local and foreign markets, scheduled airline capacity from India increased by over 9% in 2024. India is now one of the world’s fastest-growing major markets, surpassing China, whose growth has slowed to less than 5%, according to the Megahubs 2024 report from aviation analytics firm OAG.
Indian and other South Asian airlines, such as Air India, Akasa Air, SpiceJet, and Air India Express, have placed significant aircraft orders with Boeing. IndiGo is an all-Airbus airline and the largest carrier in India by market share. More than 700 Boeing aircraft have been ordered from Indian carriers alone. According to experts, the region’s growing middle class, rising air travel, and economic expansion are the main drivers of this substantial demand.
Boom at home
The CMO predicts that the largest and fastest-growing part of India’s travel market would continue to be domestic aviation traffic. Boeing stated, “As airlines offer more routes and destinations throughout the region, further low-cost carrier expansion and network diversification will enable this projected traffic growth.”
In addition to being the fastest-growing domestic aviation sector, India is currently the third-largest in the world, behind the US and China. In the anticipated timeframe, almost nine out of ten deliveries of commercial jets will be fuel-efficient single-aisle aircraft, like the 737 MAX.
However, as carriers use aircraft like the 787 Dreamliner and 777X to expand long-haul networks—especially from India to North America, where capacity has doubled in the last ten years—the region’s widebody fleet will treble, the CMO said.
Expansion of cargo
As the region increases its involvement in advanced manufacturing, e-commerce, and global supply chains, the CMO predicts that the fleet of cargo freighters in South Asia and India, including new and converted models, will increase fivefold.
Along with the expansion of the commercial aviation fleet, the demand for pilots, cabin crew, and technicians will triple to 129,000, which is the fastest growth rate of any area in the world.
Nevertheless, Boeing still has a lot of work to do. Due to production and strike problems, the company’s aircraft deliveries fell 35% in 2024. Following a tumultuous year that featured a two-month strike and production halts following a near-catastrophe, the aircraft manufacturer has been attempting to rebuild trust in its manufacturing.
The US manufacturer delivered 348 aircraft, which is almost a third fewer than the previous year and less than half of its rival Airbus SE’s 766. According to Bloomberg, Boeing also announced 317 sales and 569 gross orders, net of conversions, cancellations, and a US accounting provision for at-risk projects.
