Aero India 2007 attracts top guns

Around 500 aircraft companies from around the world have gathered at the Aero India 2007 air show, currently on in Bangalore in an attempt to sell their wares to India's booming aviation sector.

The five-day event at the Yelahanka air base in Bangalore will showcase a range of new civilian and military aircraft;

It is estimated that over the next 20 years Indian firms will place orders for 1,100 passenger aircraft and freighters valued at about $105 billion as the air travel sector booms. (See: Airbus sees India as fastest-growing country for aviation) Arch rivals Boeing and Airbus are also exhibiting their civilian aircraft at the show.

Airbus' senior analyst Sanjay Sharma attributes the growth "to strong economic growth, greater liberalisation and a large, frustrated pent-up demand", which would help the Indian air travel market grow faster than the global average.

Air traffic in India could double by 2010 to 50 million passenger journeys a year on the back of a growing economy, according to one estimate.

Morever, India plans to buy 126 fighter jets for its air force to replace ageing planes in its fleet and Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Russia's MIG-29 and Sweden's Saab are already vying for orders for the Indian Air Force's new fighter jets. (See: US aerospace majors in combative mode in India)

No wonder 45 foreign delegations and 35 air force chiefs from various countries are attending the five-day air bazaar that will enable them to showcase their products.