India next stop for Airbus: Board holds strategy session in Delhi for first-ever time; meeting with IndiGo, and Air India on agenda

The board of Europe’s largest aerospace company, Airbus, is meeting in Delhi this week for the first time for their annual off-site strategy session.Such sessions are usually held in Europe or in countries with a large Airbus manufacturing base. In 2018, the board met in China, home to its A320 family aircraft assembly line.The meeting comes at a time when the Centre is pushing aerospace companies to expand local manufacturing under the

Make-in-India

initiative as Indian carriers have been ordering over 1,500 passenger and cargo aircraft.

Agenda for first-ever visit

Along with top government officials, Airbus board members will meet senior government officials as well as executives from IndiGo and Air India, the company’s two largest Indian customers.Together, the airlines are set to take delivery of more than 1,000 Airbus aircraft in the coming years, reported ET.In 2023, IndiGo placed a record order for 500 Airbus A320 family jets, the largest single order in commercial aviation history. Airbus is also working with Air India to establish one of the region’s largest pilot training centres in India, featuring 10 full-flight simulators.The directors will also make a visit to Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) in Hyderabad and Dynamatic Technologies in Karnataka- both key Tier 1 suppliers for Airbus.“We continue to further integrate India into our global value chain. This visit will serve to reinforce our commitment, cementing Airbus’ role as a reliable partner of India,” an Airbus spokesperson said, as quoted by ET.

Expanding footprint in India

Airbus has been steadily expanding its manufacturing footprint in India. It is setting up a C-295 military transport aircraft production line in Vadodara, Gujarat, and a civilian helicopter line in Kolar, Karnataka.However, its approach toward commercial aircraft manufacturing in India currently focuses on component sourcing rather than setting up a final assembly line like in China.Airbus works with more than 40 suppliers in India and sources components worth about $1.4 billion annually, a figure the company aims to raise to $2 billion by 2030.A final assembly line in India is being considered for the next generation of aircraft, but for the current models it is not seen as practical for either side.