Clash of the Titans
Competition is heating up between the world's two biggest aircraft manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing, for a larger slice of the estimated USD 4 billion in orders from South Asian airlines as they prepare to modernise their ageing fleets in the coming year or so.
Executives from both companies believe South Asian flag carriers and ministries of civil aviation will soon come out of their stupor to meet the needs of an expanding regional economy and growing demand for airline seats. Boeing's projection is that the number of air passengers in South Asia will soar to 23.6 million by the year 2010 from 7.6 million in 1996. Airbus predicts an increase in passenger traffic in India alone of 7 percent a year over the next 20 years, considerably higher than annual passenger growth figures of 4.3 percent in "mature markets" like North America.