These are India's top aerospace firms
manufacturing giant Boeing is facing a huge crisis, having received orders for only four new planes in May. Orders for its once-best-selling 737 Max have almost dried up since an incident in January, in which the side panel of an Alaska Airlines aircraft blew out mid-air. The crisis, however, was not entirely unexpected.
Boeing's factory workforce has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years. Squads of senior technicians retired when the pandemic hit, and continued to do so even as the company raced to meet demand with air travel resuming and several airlines, including Indian ones, placing orders for thousands of new aircraft. Boeing has been on a hiring spree to replenish its ranks, but its factories are now populated with young employees who have little or no real-world experience.
Meanwhile, India is set to become the world's third-largest air passenger market by 2030, after China and the US, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The country’s aviation market, estimated at $13.5 billion in 2024, is projected to touch $23.2 billion by 2029 at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.4%. No nation is buying as many aeroplanes as India.
Airlines such as Indigo (Interglobe Aviation), Air India, and Akasa Air have ordered nearly 1,700 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing. This number is expected to rise to around 2,000 by March 2025, according to aviation consultancy firm CAPA. To capitalise on the growing order books, Indian aerospace manufacturers are seeking government support through policy initiatives.
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