Indian carriers ready to splurge on new planes in booming aviation market

The airline also plans to add around 50 Bombardier Q400 in the next five years. AirAsia India, after a slow start, has ramped up expansion plans and is looking to add around 60 planes in five years. CEO Amar Abrol said the airline wanted to boost its presence before flying international in early 2019. “We are expanding aggressively and aiming to be among the top three in the LCC segment, once we have inducted 60-70 aircraft in our fleet,” Abrol said recently. Right now, it is a race among the LCCs, but full-service airlines too will join as growth of rivals will create a compulsion for them to expand, experts said. Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dube on Thursday said the airline would double its order for Boeing 737 MAX. Jet is looking at an order for 75 planes soon. The airline already has 75 planes of this type on order. “We hope to close the deal with one of the manufacturers here shortly,” Dube said on the sidelines of the Hyderabad aero show. However, such a pace of growth will test infrastructure and human resources capabilities. In fact, Airports Authority of India-owned airports have received a request from airlines to add 375 parking bays in the next five years. “This is unprecedented. Since the initial years of liberalisation in the sector, I have not seen such an aggressive growth plan,” said Kapil Kaul, CEO, South Asia, at aviation consultancy firm CAPA. “Signs of congestion are already emerging in Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi and the situation will become more acute unless airports are able to construct 400 parking bays and enhance airside capacity within five years. Otherwise, airlines will face challenges in implementing their base and network plans,” Kaul added. Finding experienced crew will be another challenge. According to CAPA estimates, the industry will need 16,802 pilots by 2017, compared to roughly 7,000 available now.