Growing at a rate of 18 per cent annually, the Indian civil aviation market holds out great promise for potential investors. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) in its latest estimates this October reckons India to be a driving force behind the world’s civil aviation business that is globally expected to grow from US$ 5.1 billion to US$ 5.6 billion this year.

Asia-Pacific-based airlines increased their passenger carrying capacity by 42 per cent, far higher than European and North American airlines. The rise was driven largely by huge growth in Indian and Chinese air traffic, turning Asia into the world’s fastest growing aviation market.

The aviation numbers beckoning the potential investor to India are awesome. India's Civil Aviation Ministry expects 80 million passengers by 2020. The number of air travellers increased by a record 38.5 per cent in 2006-7. India anticipates doubling of passenger traffic over the next decade.

To meet this demand, it will require 6,000 more pilots. In other words, more training institutes, more airports, more planes and more ground handling personnel -- all of which require investment.

Named by British Airways as the "next biggest after the US in the long-haul market", Indian aviation is moving at a very fast pace. Three years ago, there were 130 commercial aircraft, and the number has now swelled to 350. And growth is expected to continue apace: the Government estimates that India's fleet will reach approximately 500-550 aircraft by the end of 2010.

In the same period, the domestic market size will cross 60 million and international traffic 20 million. Aircraft manufacturer Airbus pegs India's demand at 1100 aircraft, worth US$ 105 billion, over the next 20 years. According to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, the country will need 1,500 to 2,000 passenger planes in 10 years, up from 260 now.

India continues to show steady year on year growth, with a 7 per cent increase in the number of flights into and out of India (an additional 835 flights and more than 200,000 seats a month).

More passengers, more planes

India's civil aviation passenger growth, at 20 per cent, is among the highest in the world. The sector is slated to cruise far ahead of other Asian giants like China or even strong economies like France and Australia. The number of passengers who will be airborne by 2020 is a whopping 400 million.

The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) predicts that domestic traffic will grow at 25 per cent to 30 per cent a year until 2010 and international traffic growth by 15 per cent, taking the overall market to more than 100 million passengers by the end of the decade. Indian carriers have 480 aircraft on order for delivery by 2012, which compares with a fleet size of 310 aircraft operating in the country today.

As pointed out by Minister of Civil Aviation, Praful Patel, the number of air travellers is about 0.8 per cent of the population. By the time even 10 per cent of the population begins to fly, India will need about 5,000 aircraft.

More diverse businesses in non-metropolitan regions are creating new demand for air services. Airlines are bulking up on capacity -- 10 Indian carriers placed orders for 400 aircraft worth US$ 15 billion.