A top level executive of Boeing on Friday said there has been a steep reduction in flight operations by airlines in the Asia Pacific region following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is pattern that is likely to be seen in the Europe and the U.S. under the impact of COVID-19, Darren Hulst, vice-president, commercial marketing, The Boeing Company, said here.
Wither away
He, however, was hopeful of the COVID-19 impact on the aviation industry withering away towards the end of the year.
Mr. Hulst, during a media interaction at Wings India 2020, said there had been a 50% reduction in daily flights in the Asia Pacific region. “In mainland China market in normal times, there are 15,000 departures a day and at the peak of the virus, they were operating 3,000 flights a day,” he said.
“If you exclude China, rest of Asia Pacific, probably, 5,000 flights are operated a day. At one point, we saw 2,500,” he said, pointing out that these were rough estimates. As the virus spreads to other markets, “we see airlines in Europe and the U.S. taking action in terms of cutting capacity. It is demand driven and policy driven,” he said.
Speaking on the Boeing operations in India, Salil Gupte, president, Boeing India, said the company spent $1 billion every year in India on sourcing components from 200 suppliers. The goal is to grow that to $2 billion a year, he said. Manufacturing, he added, was a big part of the work Boeing did in India with small and big manufacturers.
A release said the suppliers manufacture high-end systems and components for some of Boeing’s most advanced products as part of its global supply chain. These include critical components such as aerostructures, wire harness, composites, forgings, avionics mission systems and ground support equipment.
The partnership between India and Boeing had grown over the last 75 plus years, with 3,500 people in India and more than 7,000 people working with its over 200 supply chain partners.Boeing forecasts India to be the third largest global market for commercial fleet. The “aviation market is resilient and the market will grow throughout 2020. Boeing forecasts air carriers in India will need over 2,500 new commercial aircraft by 2040,” the release said.
