Competition is heating up between the world's two biggest aircraft manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing, for a larger slice of the estimated USD 4 billion in orders from South Asian airlines as they prepare to modernise their ageing fleets in the coming year or so.
Executives from both companies believe South Asian flag carriers and ministries of civil aviation will soon come out of their stupor to meet the needs of an expanding regional economy and growing demand for airline seats. Boeing's projection is that the number of air passengers in South Asia will soar to 23.6 million by the year 2010 from 7.6 million in 1996. Airbus predicts an increase in passenger traffic in India alone of 7 percent a year over the next 20 years, considerably higher than annual passenger growth figures of 4.3 percent in "mature markets" like North America.
Predictably, both manufacturers say they have the right planes for the job of flying around or in and out of the Subcontinent. In the medium-range/medium-capacity market, Boeing is offering various versions of its best-selling twinjet, the 737, while Airbus is putting forth its popular A320 and A319 models.
McDonnel Douglas, which has had virtually no sales in South Asia since the days of the Dakota (other than the four Dc-10s with Biman) is also offering its quiet rear-twin MD-95s to Indian Airlines as replacement for its vintage 737-200s. McDonnell is said to be interested in a license manufacture in India, along the lines of its high profile agreement to build the jets in China.