India: the world’s fastest growing domestic aviation market

India was the fastest growing domestic market in the world in Sep-2011 with 18.4% year-on-year growth. Traffic growth in the India market exceeded the growth rate seen in China (9.7%) and Brazil (7.5%) in Sep-2011, and was considerably more robust than the global growth rate of 3.8%. India's domestic aviation market expansion has been the strongest in the world, tripling in the past five years, according to IATA, to become the ninth largest aviation market in the world.

Given the strong market fundamentals, the robust rate of growth is expected to continue. IATA forecasts that the Indian civil aviation market will register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 16% during the period 2010-2013. Looking further ahead, the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation's Vision 2020 statement envisages a compound annual growth rate of around 15% in the next five years. Investment opportunities of USD120 billion are envisaged up to 2020 with USD80 billion on new aircraft.