Asia to Drive Airplane Industy in near future

Airlines across Asia are stepping up the pace of plane orders as the region’s booming economy spurs demand for air travel -- making it the prime battleground for Chicago-based Boeing and Europe’s Airbus.

A surge in budget airlines and other carriers’ plans to overhaul their aging fleets are driving demand for new planes in Asia -- where more than 800 jets are expected to be sold in the next decade.

Boeing executives say Asia will drive the demand for new planes over the next two decades. And the company’s senior vice president of sales (Dinesh Keskar) says India is a centerpiece in Boeing’s growth strategy.

Air India already plans to buy 50 new planes from Boeing, which estimates it will sell planes worth 35 (B) billion dollars to the country’s airlines over the next 20 years.