India likely to add one thousand aircrafts

While the scheduled airlines are likely to add around 370 aircraft in their fleet, non-scheduled operators could induct 300 business jets, 300 small planes and 250 helicopters during this period, owing to heightened demand.

A working group set up by the plan body to formulate the 12th Plan for the civil aviation sector said the Indian carriers were anticipating a significant growth in air traffic, which is leading them to add around 370 aircraft worth about Rs 150,000 crore.

"Fleet expansion at this scale would require airlines to explore multiple funding options including capital markets, long-term borrowings and leasing," the group has said.

Going by a KPMG report which estimated fleet expansion by the Indian airlines, the plan panel group said Jet Airways was expected to add 79 planes by 2017, Kingfisher 78, IndiGo 69, SpiceJet 68, Air India 40, GoAir 22 and JetLite 20.

The estimated value of these 376 aircraft was Rs 147,600 crore, it said. The working group estimates that over Rs 20,000 crore would be invested in general aviation till 2017, with private non-scheduled operators expected to add 600 small aircraft and business jets and about 250 helicopters.