Boeing Wants More Orders Before Setting Up Aircraft Factory In India

Photo: Boeing India

India-West News Desk

BENGALURU – Boeing has signaled it requires more aircraft orders from India before considering a final assembly line for commercial jets in the country, potentially tempering India’s expectations.

“The business case in order to have final assembly in any region has to be far larger than what the Indian market is. It requires many more airplanes than are being bought in India today,” Boeing India and South Asia President Salil Gupte told Reuters. “We’ll have to see how it evolves as the markets in India and around India go. In the meantime, it is all about building stepwise capability to get up to that point,” he said on the sidelines of the Aero India show here.

Boeing reaffirmed its commitment to India’s aerospace sector but noted that commercial aircraft assembly requires a significantly larger market than defense projects. The company has previously proposed assembling defense aircraft, such as F/A-18 jets, in India, Reuters said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said last year that India would soon see a Boeing aircraft designed and manufactured domestically. The civil aviation minister also urged Boeing and Airbus to begin civil aircraft production in India.

Boeing currently sources $1.25 billion in products and services annually from India through over 300 suppliers and employs about 7,000 people in the country. Its joint venture with Tata Group produces AH-64 Apache helicopter fuselages and 737 vertical fin structures for global customers.

Gupte also highlighted  to Reuters the need for government incentives to reduce capital costs for suppliers, adding that discussions with the civil aviation ministry are ongoing.