Boeing Co. is intensifying investment in India to support airlines and streamline logistics, as the US planemaker gears up for a giant plane order from Air India Ltd. widely expected to be announced soon.
(Bloomberg) — Boeing Co. is intensifying investment in India to support airlines and streamline logistics, as the US planemaker gears up for a giant plane order from Air India Ltd. widely expected to be announced soon.
The US manufacturer will invest 2 billion rupees ($24 million) in a logistics park and separately set up a support center for airlines near New Delhi, Boeing India President Salil Gupta said in an interview on Monday at the Aero India show in Bangalore.
Initially, the logistics center will cater to airlines locally and later support Boeing’s larger network of customers in the region. The support center, with dozens of employees, will run technical workshops to boost aircraft performance and work with carriers alongside regulators on airworthiness and air traffic management.
“India is one of the most competitive aviation and airline markets in the world and we want to ensure that our airline customers here have the latest methodologies, technical capabilities to be able to compete not just within India but globally because many of them will be competing with the international markets,” Gupta said.
The world’s fastest-growing aviation market will require stronger service network, with Boeing estimating the Indian commercial fleet could nearly quadruple by 2041 from 2019. The planemaker has secured about 290 possible orders from Air India, with 190 737 Max aircraft and the option for 50 more, as well as 20 787 Dreamliners and the same number as a possible top-up, alongside 10 777x aircraft, Bloomberg News reported last week.
Rival Airbus SE has also won a major portion of the deal, which stands to be among the biggest in commercial aviation history, according to people familiar with the talks.
Boeing already owns a flight simulator for its bestselling 737 Max jets near New Delhi, which is used to train pilots from SpiceJet Ltd. and upstart carrier Akasa Air. It also sources components valued at more a $1 billion annually from more than 300 local suppliers, including structures for the AH-64 Apache helicopters in partnership with Tata Advanced Systems Ltd.
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