‘We are in talks with all Indian airlines for our products’

MUMBAI: French aircraft manufacturer Airbus SE, which has over 300 aircraft in operations in India and orders outstanding for 530 planes, will deliver one aircraft every week over the next decade.

Airbus India’s managing director Srinivasan Dwarakanath feels that a large number of Indians, who don’t yet fly, will take to the skies, courtesy the government’s Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) that aims to link smaller towns and cities with air connectivity.

Airbus is also working closely with various regulators on the Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engine issue that has grounded several Airbus A320neo aircraft, powered by engines from P&W, and has affected the delivery schedule of the aircraft manufacturer.

However, despite the challenges, Airbus is keen to stick to its set delivery plan, Dwarakanath says. Excerpts from the interview: engine glitches since February). Once they are able to deliver, we will also be able to deliver aircraft (A320neo) to customers. It has affected our deliveries, but we are keen to stick to our set delivery plan. Airlines are starting their operations on these (regional) routes on smaller aircraft. Airbus aircraft may not be the starting point for those routes (for many airlines).

However, Airbus’s sister company ATR’S aircraft are great for these routes. And once airlines operate these routes with ATR planes extensively, they will have the opportunity to fly Airbus’s single-aisle aircraft like A320 on some of these routes (where there is enough passenger demand). We see RCS stimulating a lot of traffic and passenger growth.