India's airlines bought billions of dollars worth of planes and engines this week, but the lightning-paced expansion of the country's aviation sector has triggered a shortfall of pilots, officials warned Wednesday.This year's Asian Aerospace, the region's largest air show that began Tuesday in Singapore, is buzzing over a string of purchases that several Indian airlines finalized over the past three days with Boeing, Airbus and General Electric.
The buying spree illustrates a remarkable boom in India's aviation sector, which has charted a passenger growth rate of between 25-30 percent in recent years, thanks partly to rising incomes in India's 300 million-strong middle class.
However, pilots are not being trained fast enough to meet the soaring need for their services, said Dinesh Keskar, Boeing Co.'s senior vice president for commercial aircraft sales.
"There is a tremendous shortage of pilots in India," Keskar said, stressing that the country will likely require between 4,000 and 5,000 new pilots in the next five years.
India and China are among the customers most sought after by more than 930 exhibitors from 43 countries participating in the Asian Aerospace show, which concludes Sunday.
"We think that this new order reflects the rapid growth in the Indian market, most of which is captured by low-cost carriers," said Ajay Singh, SpiceJet's director.
Meanwhile, India's air force is expected to seek proposals soon from manufacturers to buy 126 new fighter jets that could be worth at least $8 billion.
India is believed to be looking at Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornets, U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-16 Fighting Falcons, French Mirages, Swedish Gripens and Russia's Sukhoi fighters.
The aerospace show moves next year to Hong Kong, which organizers have called a gateway to China, a country expected to buy 100 planes a year over the next five years.