Boeing said on Wednesday it anticipates airlines operating in India and South Asia will add 3,290 commercial jets to their fleets over the coming 20 years, driven by sustained economic expansion, an enlarging middle class and a rising cohort of first-time air travellers. That projection represents an increase from the company’s earlier rolling 20-year outlook, which estimated demand for 2,835 jets.
The bulk of the new aircraft demand is expected to be single-aisle planes, with Boeing estimating 2,875 single-aisle deliveries over the period and 395 wide-body aircraft. The company described India and South Asia together as one of the fastest-growing aviation markets globally, a region where carriers are rapidly expanding capacity and updating fleets in parallel with airport upgrades.
Both low-cost carriers and full-service airlines in the region have been intensifying network expansion, and that has positioned the market as an important battleground for aircraft manufacturers. Boeing and Airbus are competing for market share as carriers step up purchases to meet demand and modernise their equipment.
Boeing’s forecast for India and South Asia is closely followed within the aerospace industry because India ranks as the world’s third-largest domestic aviation market after the U.S. and China, and is the fastest-growing of the three. The growth has been led by the country’s two largest carriers, IndiGo and Air India, according to the company.
Ashwin Naidu, Boeing’s managing director of commercial marketing for India and South Asia, said many aviation markets elsewhere are now replacing fleets rather than expanding them - a contrast with India’s current trajectory, which remains growth-focused. He also noted that India must accelerate expansion of aviation infrastructure to match rising travel demand, warning that the national network is still heavily concentrated on two primary hubs.
Naidu highlighted that more than 30% of the network continues to rely on Delhi and Mumbai, underscoring the need for broader geographic development of airport and system capacity across the country.
Separately, Boeing has been rebuilding momentum after a period of setbacks. The company delivered its highest number of aircraft in 2025 since 2018 and for the first time in seven years surpassed Airbus in net orders, the firm said. Despite those gains, the wider industry continues to face challenges: supply chain disruptions are slowing deliveries, limiting planemakers’ ability to fully capitalise on demand and compelling airlines to spend more on upkeep to keep older jets in service.
The company’s outlook and operational context arrive at a moment when carriers in India and South Asia are pressing ahead with fleet expansion even as broader delivery constraints persist, creating a complex environment for aircraft manufacturers, airlines and infrastructure planners alike.
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Where this matters: the forecast affects aircraft manufacturers, airlines, airport operators and supply chain firms that support aircraft production and maintenance. The dominance of single-aisle demand has implications for manufacturing lines focused on narrowbody jets and for carriers planning short- to medium-haul network growth.