- Thursday, August 22, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
Toronto-based De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited is aiming to capture 80 per cent of India’s small-plane market as the south Asian nation seeks to improve connectivity in distant corners and over challenging terrain, Bloomberg reported.
The company, which is a leading manufacturer of turboprop aircraft, expects India to have in the next decade 120 small planes that accommodate less than 20 passengers, Yogesh Garg, De Havilland’s Asia Pacific sales director, said in an interview on the sidelines of the Airline Economics Growth Frontiers of India conference in New Delhi on Tuesday (28), the report added.
Small aircraft are considered key for India, the world’s fastest-growing aviation market, to serve small towns, hilly locations and islands where first-time flyers are growing.
According to an estimate by Airbus SE, India will require more than 2,200 planes in another 17 years, with most of them being smaller ones, the Bloomberg report added.
However, De Havilland will also have competition from the likes of the 19-seater Dornier 228 plane and Cessna Grand Caravan EX.
SpiceJet, which is De Havilland’s top customer in India, presently operates 32 Dash-8 Q400 turboprop planes, which accommodate between 78 and 90 people, the official said, according to Bloomberg.
IndiGo, India’s biggest carrier, has 78 ATR small planes, a joint venture between Airbus SE and Leonardo SpA of Italy.
