9 in 10 new aircraft in India to use GE, partner-made engines: CEO

Approximately nine out of 10 aircrafts that get delivered in the next decade in India will be powered by engines made by GE or its joint venture partner, Vikram Rai, CEO South Asia, GE Aerospace says.

While Indian commercial aircrafts are operating with more than 1400 GE engines today, approximately 3,400 plus engines will be delivered in the next 9 to 10 years, he adds.

The company, which has spent roughly $200 million on in-country-supply-chain development in 2025 will nearly double this investment by 2030, Rai said.

Releasing a report that talks about GE Aerospace’s economic impact in India, Rai said GE Aerospace has proudly partnered with Indian aerospace ecosystem for nearly four decades. “GE Aerospace has created many firsts. We were the first to help Air India establish an engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) in Nagpur; we were the first to start a research centre in Bangalore, which has created approximately a 1000 patents; we have created significant capabilities in India’s defence aerospace ecosystem through partnerships”, he said.

GE employs over 2700 people in India and its operations span supply of engines and propulsion technology to India’s commercial and defence aircraft and naval fleet, sourcing commercial engine components from its Pune manufacturing facility and from 16 other major suppliers across India, and high-tech research and engineering at its technology centre in Bengaluru. “The Pune factory is a classic example of a make in India for the world. And we continue to partner and develop supply chain ecosystem for the aerospace industry in the country”, Rai said.

It is estimated that India and South Asia may require 3,300 additional aircrafts (which means 6,600 aircraft engines) by 2044. Most of the new aircrafts are expected to be single-aisle planes, which could be powered extensively by GE Aerospace or Safran joint venture, the report says. It also says that of the 1700 plus new aircrafts that are ordered by Indian airlines and are expected to enter service over the coming decade, most will be powered by GE Aerospace and partner built engines. The addition of thousands of new engines in the current fleet could create a commercially viable opportunity for over $5.5 billion for the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) industry, the report points out.