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Airbus to double procurement from India to $1.5 billion from current $750 million, according to Remi Maillard, President & MD, Airbus India.
We are procuring $75 million worth components from India annually. Airbus will double the total value of procurement from India to $150 billion in the coming years, well before the end of the decade,’‘ Maillard, said.
When asked on how it could be doubled and on likely bottlenecks, he said: I want to speak on capacities rather than bottlenecks. We are on the way to the ambition of sourcing $1.5 billion components from India.’‘
Airbus has entered into various contracts last year and also inked additional contracts now which will facilitate higher sourcing.
The year 2023 was a ‘record’ year for Airbus. It received 750 orders (out of 2,319 globally) and delivered 75 aircraft including 41 to Indigo, 19 to Air India, 14 to Vistara and one to Go First.
Globally, the company delivered 775 out of which 75 were in India which shows the centrality of the India market to Airbus, Maillard said.
Stating that global aviation is piloting to India, Airbus President said that the current market is only the tip of the iceberg as per capita air travel is still low in India.
He predicted that over the next 20 years, India will remain first in the growth in the world in the aviation sector with present 6.2 per cent growth. “We believe that cargo will also grow at a similar pace like passengers. This will require 2,840 new aircraft over two decades. India will need 41,000 new pilots and 47,000 new technicians,’‘ he said.
On the types of aircraft, Maillard said, “A350 is a catalyst to `revolution’ happening in international travel in India as it can fly from anywhere in India to everywhere in the world.’‘
Referring to the Indian aviation ecosystem, the Airbus official said India is a strategic resource base and Airbus was working to become a benchmark-setting company in India.
Airbus will continue to invest in Engineering and Digital space in India and the number of its professionals will go up from 3,000 to 5,000 by 2025.
Supporting the growth and indigenous MRO industry in India is part of Airbus’s commitment,’‘ he said, citing collaborations the company entered into with Indian counterparts including the one with GMR for its Aviation Academy opened today in Hyderabad.
Airbus also entered into an agreement with Tata for setting up a pilot training academy in Gurugram with a capacity to train 5,000 pilots over the next 10 years.
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