Airbus, Boeing slug it out for Indian market

Thursday, 06 February 2003, 20:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: As India prepares to make its biggest purchase order for 43 aircraft worth billions of dollars, aviation giants Airbus and Boeing are locked in a bitter war to grab the larger piece of the pie. French Prime Minister Jean Pierre Raffarin, who arrives in India Thursday, is expected to make a strong pitch for French aircraft maker Airbus Industrie in the purchase of new planes for state-owned Indian Airlines for $2 billion. Raffarin's visit comes days after Airbus officials accused the U.S. of exerting political pressure on New Delhi to pick American manufacturer Boeing for the mega acquisition. Robert Blackwill, U.S. Ambassador to India, has defended "lobbying" for American aircraft major Boeing but has denied that the U.S. was putting pressure on India to reject the Airbus Industrie aircraft. "Yes, I am very active in persuading India on why the Boeing proposal should be considered. No apologies for that," Blackwill told reporters after unveiling the U.S. pavilion at the Aero India 2003 in Bangalore. "But, India is going to making its own choice." On whether U.S. was putting pressure on India to purchase aircrafts from Boeing, he said: "Of course, one of the things that Ambassadors do is lobby. But, it would be true of the ambassadors from the European Union as well (for the Airbus)". France fears that a delay in announcing the deal means a lion's share would be awarded to Boeing, which has had two very bad years due to depressed sales in the wake of 9/11. Airbus has said it expected India to buy about 222 aircraft over the next 15 years at a cost of $17.5 billion and hoped to sell about half of them, including the current 43-jet deal. While Airbus is hoping to sell its medium-capacity-long-range (MCLR) A330/340s to flag carrier Air-India, Boeing is looking to provide 777-200 aircraft. Airbus spokesman David Velupillai said: "We estimated in 1999 that all but 14 of India's 112-strong fleet of aircraft need to be replaced over 20 years. Indian Airlines and Air-India will need to add 124 jets to meet increasing traffic." Air-India intends to purchase 17 long-haul aircraft over the next five years to revamp its ageing fleet and expand operations. Various committees appointed by the Indian government have found the Airbus package more attractive than Boeing, but the dramatic rise in the value of euro vis-a-vis dollar in the past four months has made Boeing much more competitive. Boeing has also been lobbying aggressively with senior U.S. officials, including Ambassador Robert Blackwill visiting Civil Aviation Minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain to push the U.S.-based aviation giant's case. Boeing had in December said India would need 290 jet airliners worth $22 billion over the next 20 years. Former U.S. under-secretary of state for political affairs, Thomas Pickering, now the Vice-President of Boeing Corporation, also called on officials in India. In accordance with the cabinet decision that such deals have to reckon with India's strategic relations with countries, the civil aviation ministry faces pressure to overrule technical grounds of evaluation.
Source: IANS