Boeing's Bullish India Outlook May Undercount Regional Aircraft
by Neelam Mathews - August 3, 2017, 1:40 PM Budget carrier SpiceJet is using some of its Q400s for India's Regional Connectivity Scheme. (Photo: Neelam Mathews) Boeing’s 20-year market outlook for India, released on July 31, reflects the manufacturer’s optimism that the Indian economy will remain strong and grow from the world’s seventh to third largest by 2037. But that outlook may underestimate the need for smaller regional jets identified during a conference the following day in India’s northeast region. Based on the expected economic underpinning, Boeing forecast a demand for 2,100 new airplanes valued at $290 billion over the next two decades, increasing from the 1,850 new airplanes it predicted last year. “This is the highest-ever forecast we have presented for India,” Dinesh Keskar, Boeing senior vice president of sales for Asia-Pacific and India, said during a briefing in Delhi. The bullish Boeing forecast, however, calls for only 10 new delive...