India's Jet Airways to Purchase 75 Boeing 737 MAX Planes Worth $8.8 Billion

The Indian aviation sector is growing at an average annual rate of 15-20 percent. US manufacturer Boeing expects the world's fastest-growing aviation market to order as many as 2,100 planes, worth $290 billion, over the next 20 years.

New Delhi (Sputnik): Jet Airways India Ltd is acquiring 75 Boeing 737 Max aircraft worth approximately $8.8 billion; the Indian company informed investors on Tuesday. This is in accordance with the company's long-term plans, it says, and will allow it to further strengthen its position in the world's fastest-growing aviation market. 

"This is to inform you that the company has entered into an agreement with Boeing for the purchase of 75 Boeing 737 Max aircraft," Jet Airways India Ltd stated.

The company had discussing purchasing 75-100 single-aisle planes with Boeing for a long time. Another Indian company, SpiceJet, had ordered more than 200 narrow-body aircraft from Boeing. However, IndiGo, the country's largest private airline, is the biggest buyer of Airbus SE's A320neo jets.

The Indian government estimates that the country's aviation market will cross one billion passenger trips per year in the next 15-20 years in comparison to around 900 million passenger trips per year in the US and 600 million in China.

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Currently, the Indian aviation market is dominated by aircraft that feature a capacity of as many as 180 seats, which are mostly manufactured by Boeing Co. and Airbus Group SE. Russian manufacturer Irkut also expects to enter the Indian market with its Sukhoi Superjet-100 and MS-21 planes. Irkut has proposed to manufacture civilian planes in India in order to outdo its Western rivals.