The company forecasts a demand for 2,100 new airplanes in India, valued at $290 billion, over the next 20 years.
Indian international airline Jet Airways Ltd will buy 75 737 MAX narrowbody jets from Boeing to meet the ever-rising passenger growth in the country. Reuters reported that Jet has entered into an agreement with Boeing to purchase the aircraft. The deal is worth $8.8 billion.
Though both the companies have not made a public statement about the deal, a filing by Jet to the stock exchange has confirmed the agreement. But the filing doesn’t specify whether the agreement was a formal order or a non-binding memorandum of understanding.
The 737 MAX family is designed to offer customers exceptional performance, with lower operating costs and additional range to open up new destinations.
The 737 MAX incorporates the latest CFM International LEAP-1B engines, Advanced Technology winglets, Boeing Sky Interior, large flight deck displays and other features to deliver the highest efficiency, reliability and passenger comfort in the single-aisle market.
The deal comes at a time when the civil aviation market in India is showing tremendous growth with increasing passenger demand for domestic as well as international flights.
In January this year, the domestic passenger traffic showed a growth of 17.9 percent on an annual basis. The double-digit growth in the market has been continuing for 41 months.
Boeing has delivered more than 100 737 MAX airplanes to over 20 customers worldwide. It is the fastest-selling airplane in Boeing history, accumulating more than 4,400 orders from 96 customers worldwide.
Boeing has been exploring the opportunities to expand their market base in India to capitalize on the growing needs of the Indian military and civil aviation industry. In February this year, Gene Cunningham, Boeing’s vice president for defense, space, and security, said that the company was in talks with the Indian Navy officials for selling its F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets.
In 2016, India signed an agreement with the Illinois-based company for the acquisition of four Poseidon-8I long-range surveillance and antisubmarine warfare aircraft at a cost of over $1 billion.
In the same year, India made deals worth $15 billion with Boeing. In February 2017, Boeing announced the establishment of Boeing Defense India (BDI), a local operating entity to expand the Boeing Global Services organization in India to better serve customers in the country, including the government.
Last September, the company expanded its engineering capabilities in India by setting up a new facility in Bangalore to focus on state-of-the-art technology areas such as data analytics, internet-of-things, avionics, aerospace design, manufacturing, testing, and research, to support Boeing products and systems, more efficiently in India, and around the world. The center also includes laboratories for research to support next-gen innovations in aerospace.
The company forecasts a demand for 2,100 new airplanes in India, valued at $290 billion, over the next 20 years.
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