Airbus sees brisk demand from India

8220;India will be the fastest-growing country for air travel for the next 10 years,8221; Sanjay Sharma, senior marketing analyst at Airbus, said at a news conference on Monday.

Strong economic growth, greater liberalisation and a 8220;large, frustrated pent-up demand8221; would help the Indian air travel market outpace the global average, he said.

Airbus estimates the Indian air travel market will grow at an average 7.7 per cent per year over the next 20 years, compared to the worldwide average of 4.7 per cent. India8217;s passenger plane fleet will grow five-fold in the same period, Sharma said.

8220;While most of the demand will be for single-aisle aircraft, there8217;s a market for long-range and large aircraft, as well,8221; Sharma said, ahead of Airbus8217; participation at the Aero Show in Bangalore this week.

Air freight traffic would also gain as more domestic airlines entered and better infrastructure boosted profitability, he said.

Flyington Freighters recently ordered six Airbus freighters valued at 1 billion, and Airbus estimates there will be demand for 165 freighter aircraft over the next 20 years.

Airbus, which made its first delivery in the country for state-owned Indian in 1976, has seven clients including Jet Airways Ltd, Deccan Aviation, Indigo, and Kingfisher Airlines, which has ordered five jumbo A380 aircraft.

EADS has said it would invest up to Euro 2 billion over the next 15 years in India in production and R038;D facilities. An engineering centre, a fully-owned subsidiary, would be operational in the second half of this year.