India buys half of world’s planes?

Looks like I have gone nuts again ? I think I am not, check the news below :

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2005 10:38:34 AM ]

MUMBAI: Nine airlines. 350 aircraft. Funding and infrastructure—a big question mark. This sums up the booming Indian aviation sector.

In the last six months, private Indian airline companies have placed orders for 250 aircraft, representing 43 per cent of the total global orders placed with aircraft manfacturers Airbus and Boeing.

Add the 93 planes that national carriers Air-India and Indian Airlines are expected to order, and India’s share of the global aircraft market zooms beyond 50 per cent. (Globally, Airbus and Boeing have secured combined orders of 573—Airbus 296 and Boeing 277— compared with 647 in the whole of last year.)

The aviation world stands divided over India’s ability to sustain such explosive growth. Noel Forgeard, Airbus president & CEO, is reported to have said at the Paris air show, ‘China and India should be the drivers of growth in the future,” a view that IATA director-general Giovanni Bisignani shares.

However, Boeing’s Dinesh Keskar is not amused.”The world is sceptical about the way Indian new-born carriers are ordering planes. How are they going to get so many pilots, where is the infrastructure?” he asked.

Look who’s buying these birds in India. Complete unknowns—until even a few days ago. IndiGo Air, promoted by Delhi based air travel services company InterGlobeEnterprises, on Thursday announced the acquisition of 100 A-320 aircraft.

Nine Desi Firms Are In Global Market For 350 Aircraft. Not sure if its true, I guess it shud be, when Tiems of India is the source after all

Source : Times of India