Akasa Air is a great example of Indian aviation sector's potential, says Boeing India

He explained that these are key examples of Indian aviation's growth over the medium to long term. While those numbers were big, they are a fraction of the over 2,400 airplanes that are going to be coming into this region over the next 20 years, he said.

“We estimate that to fly those 2,400 airplanes, you will need 37,000 pilots, about the same number or maybe a slightly larger number of mechanics to maintain those. And we want to ensure that we're able to have the pilot training ecosystem here in India to train those pilots. So they don't always have to leave Indian borders,” the Boeing India President said on the announcement of the airplane-maker’s $100 million investment in infrastructure and pilot training programmes in India.

Reflecting on the grounding of crisis-hit Go First and ambiguity on when it would hit the skies again despite the regulator’s nod, Gupte said it's simply too early to see how that's going to play out. He, however, said Go First’s situation is not indicative of the overall long-term trend in the Indian aviation sector. “Long-term trend in Indian aviation is still for growth. It's never a straight line. There are always small blips, but overall, the trend line is unchanged,” he said.