Latest news with #Benoît
India.com
2 days ago
- Business
- India.com
India gives highest orders for planes to Airbus, Indigo, Ratan Tata's Air India are their top clients, still delay in delivery due to…
Ratan Tata (File) European aircraft manufacturer Airbus is optimistic about its business in India. The company wants to expand its industrial capabilities within the country, which will generate employment opportunities in the Indian economy. Indian airlines like IndiGo and Air India are among its top three global customers. Both airlines are still facing delays in aircraft deliveries. Airbus executive Benoît de Saint-Exupéry stated that deliveries to Indian aviation companies are expected to increase as the company has ramped up aircraft production. Aircraft Orders An Airbus official revealed that IndiGo has an order for 916 aircraft, while Air India awaits the delivery of 344 aircraft. Most of these are narrow-body aircraft. Malaysia's AirAsia Group, which earlier operated an airline in India in partnership with Tata, is in second position globally with 393 aircraft on order. Increased Aircraft Production During the IATA AGM held in Delhi, Benoît shared updates in an interview with The Times of India . Airlines are facing delivery delays, due to issues with Boeing as well. Benoît stated that they are beginning to see the first signs of stability in the supply chain and are producing 60 A320 aircraft every month, which matches pre-COVID levels. By 2027, they plan to increase this to 75 aircraft per month and have the orders and are scaling up production. He added that in the future, every Airbus aircraft will be partially made in India. When asked about the possibility of establishing a Final Assembly Line (FAL) in India to fulfill the combined 1,750 aircraft orders from IndiGo and Air India, Benoît stated that they have FALs for other products like the H125 helicopter and C295 military aircraft. For commercial aircraft, their focus is on enhancing presence in India. Procuring components from India is more beneficial than setting up a commercial aircraft FAL here. In 2020, Airbus purchased $500 million worth of components from India, which grew to over $1 billion in 2023.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
'Every commercial Airbus aircraft flying going forward will be partly made in India'
This is a representative image NEW DELHI: For Airbus, IndiGo and Air India are now among the top three airline customers globally with the maximum backlog or aircraft yet to be delivered, according to the aerospace major's EVP (sales, commercial aircraft) Benoît de Saint-Exupéry. It has to deliver 916 and 344 aircraft, the majority of which are narrow body, to IndiGo and AI, respectively, said an official. Malaysia-based AirAsia Group, which once used to run a JV airline in India with the Tatas, is in the second spot at 393 planes. In Delhi for the IATA AGM, Benoît had some good news for airlines who are getting increasingly frustrated with delivery delays (including from Boeing too) due to supply chain issues grappling the industry since 2020 that have affected everything in the aviation ecosystem from planes to engines to seats, components and spares. 'We are seeing the first signs of stability in supply chain. We are now back to the pre-Covid level of producing 60 A320 family of single aisle planes every month and hope to increase this number to 75 by 2027. We have the orders and are ramping up production to step on the delivery, and every commercial (Airbus) aircraft that's flying going forward will be partly made in India,' Benoît said. Asked if the order book for 1,750 planes from IndiGo and AI makes a case for India to get a final assembly line (FAL), Benoît said: 'We will have final assembly lines on the other products (one for H125 helicopters for its civil range and other for C295 military aircraft). On commercial aircraft side, we are looking at expanding our footprint with industry here in India. Sourcing from India has much value than a FAL for commercial aircraft and we are constantly increasing the same from here. Airbus sourcing from India was $500 millon in 2020. We crossed the $1 billion mark in 2023 and last year we were at $1.4 billion. We will reach $ 2 billion before the end of the decade.' Rémi Maillard, president of Airbus India and MD of south Asia region, said: 'India is not only a market for us. It has become a strategic resource and industrial base for Airbus. We are investing in the country. The $500-million that we were procuring from India in 2020 was mostly engineering and digital services. From 2023, it is actually more hardware, flying parts that digital services. Not only we are going at a very fast pace, but we are now manufacturing critical components of aircraft and helicopters in the country. ' India is now the biggest market for Airbus. 'We're very proud to count our two main customers in India — IndiGo and Air India — as part of the biggest backlog in Airbus,' Benoît, who signed the MoU with IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers for converting 30 A350s into a firm order at the IATA AGM, said. IndiGo, the biggest operator of the best-selling A320 family of planes, has ordered 1,400 Airbus aircraft — 1,340 A320 family and 60 wide body A350. Air India has 300 A320 family and 50 A350s on order. About delays in aircraft deliveries due to supply chain issues, Benoît said: 'When it comes to the stability of our setup, yes the industry is late. Now we are seeing the first signs of stability in the supply chain. But you, you never quite rest because, as we all know, the situation can change quite quickly nowadays. The objective is to bring back some resilience in the supply chain. The pandemic has taught us to be much more intrusive, If I may say so, into the supply chain to anticipate the issues and work with our suppliers to find solutions. ' Given the wait for new aircraft, both AI and IndiGo have decided to keep their older A320ceos for much longer than they had originally anticipated. 'There's a trend with airlines in general to keep the asset longer because because they need they need more (capacity),' Benoît said. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
