DNA Money Edit: Will aviation sector face a problem of plenty?

Aircraft manufacturers are betting big on India for the consumption of their products in one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world. At the ongoing Paris Air Show, SpiceJet, which till a couple of years ago was on the death bed and made a remarkable turnaround, has signed a letter of intent with Bombardier for up to 50 Q400 Turboprop planes. Based on the list price, SpiceJet's order could be valued at up to $1.7 billion making it the single biggest order for the Q400.

SpiceJet is not alone, Almost all its Indian rivals including IndiGo, GoAir, Vistara, Air India and Jet Airways, among others, are all on a shopping spree. They have placed huge orders for meeting the growing demand in the coming years. The orders placed collectively by these airlines have already made India the third-largest buyer of passenger planes only behind the US and China.

In its annual sales forecast last year, Boeing projected that over 1,850 aircraft will be required in India over next 20 years, while its rival Airbus said around 1,600 planes will be deployed by Indian airlines by 2034. The manufacturers and the airlines are buoyed by the estimate done by the aviation industry which predicts that the passenger trips in India may be tripled to 500 million in the next 10-15 years with the functioning of 150-200 airports requiring an investment of not less than Rs 2-3 lakh crore during the period.

The stakeholders and analyst are of the opinion that the growth in aviation has happened despite any government backing. If it wants to give the sector a push, the government will have to give right regulatory back-up and charge up the propulsion of the engine that is raring to take off.