Amid major Air India aircraft order, Boeing eyes new logistics unit in India

• Shubham
• 13 February, 2023

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By: Shubham Ghosh

Salil Gupte, president of Boeing India, on Monday (13) told Reuters that the aircraft-manufacturing giant is considering investment of around $24 million in India to set up a logistics centre for plane parts.

The plan aims at boosting Boeing’s footprint in the South Asian country in the wake of a massive aircraft order.

Air India, the country’s former state-run airliner which is now owned by Tata Group, is expected to unveil a major deal this week for around 500 planes worth more than $100 billion at list prices, split between Boeing and Airbus, Reuters reported.

Out of the order, Boeing’s share includes 220 jets — 190 737 MAX narrow-body jets, 20 787 wide-body ones, and 10 777Xs.

Gupte stopped short of remarking on any specific customer orders but added that India was the third-largest domestic aviation market across the globe and would

While Gupte did not comment on any specific customer orders, he said India was one of the most important civil aviation markets across the globe.

“India is one of the most important civil aviation markets in the world … and that means there’s going to be huge opportunity in both narrowbody and widebody aircraft,” he added.

With the new unit, Boeing plans to speed up access to parts to improve aircraft availability for airlines and reduce flight cancellations or grounding due to maintenance issues, Gupte added.

The move comes at a time when the US-based company is penetrating into India’s single-aisle market, the mainstay of rival Airbus, and bagging orders from start-up airline Akasa Air and rival SpiceJet.

According to Boeing’s forecasts, India’s carriers will need 2,200 new planes over the next 20 years, and with narrow-body planes making up the bulk, Gupte expects that to be the company’s focus area.

“As the middle-class grows and as India leads the world economic growth, you will see more and more people fly. That means we need to ensure our customers have the narrowbody aircraft they need to serve this market,” he was quoted as saying by Reuters.