Airbus expects to deliver, on average, more than two aircraft a week to India over the next 10 years, as the company looks to meet a backlog of more than 1,200 aircraft in the country, Jurgen Westermeier, President and Managing Director, Airbus India and South Asia, said on Thursday.
"We already are very proud that today, of the 800 aircraft which are flying in India, more than 500 are from Airbus," Westermeier told ANI in an exclusive conversation.
He said Airbus' backlog of more than 1,200 aircraft with India translates to an average of around 120 aircraft a year over the next decade.
"So you see we are really supporting the growth and we have a backlog with India of more than 1200 aircraft, which is a big number…And this means in the next 10 years, you just do the maths, 1200 divided by 10 is 120, so more than two aircraft per week which Airbus will deliver to India," he said.
Westermeier also responded to a question about the Air India flight AI2379 incident. The Airbus A320, operating from Phuket to Delhi on 4 August, experienced a sudden 300-foot altitude drop over Odisha, leaving 20 passengers and four cabin crew members injured. The aircraft later stabilised and landed safely in Delhi.
"There are official processes to follow up with incidents like this, and the official process is fully followed to make sure that the best outcome is ensured," Westermeier said.
As India's aviation fleet grows, Airbus is also working to strengthen its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) capabilities in the country.
Airbus has selected Indamer Technics to establish South Asia's first comprehensive radome repair facility in Nagpur. Under the service agreement, Indamer Technics has been designated as an authorised facility for the repair, storage and exchange of Airbus A320, A330, A350 and A380 aircraft radomes in the region.
Westermeier said building these capabilities in India would strengthen the local aviation ecosystem and help airlines reduce turnaround times.
"We are now in the process of establishing these critical capabilities in India. This will help grow the ecosystem, and this will also help our airline customers that they have quicker turnaround times," he said.
According to Westermeier, faster turnaround times would allow aircraft to fly more and provide more services to customers.
The collaboration will also focus on developing a localised Airbus avionics repair network across South Asia. The facility is expected to support customer operations ahead of upcoming widebody aircraft inductions while optimising single-aisle maintenance across the region.
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