India to be among top 5 aviation markets: Patel

India will be among the top five aviation markets in the world - both in terms of size and scale in the next five years, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said.

"In 2004, when I came to this office, India was not at all recognized in the world of aviation. But in a short span of time, we have now become the 9th largest aviation market in the world," Patel, keynoting 'Air India's Capital to Capital Connectivity: Bringing Washington and Delhi Closer', organized by the US-India Business Council in association with The Indus Entrepreneurs, DC Chapter and the World Bank-International Monetary Fund India Club, said,

"And, I can tell you, with a sense of confidence," he added, "that within a span of five years, we will be breaking into the top five aviation markets in the world in terms of size, scale, just about everything."

Patel however said that "this is not the only satisfaction that we draw. The satisfaction, which we really draw back home at least is that we have been able to get many, many more Indians to fly. Flying was just a dream, which you see in movies or you just imagine. But in India, in a short span of time, that dream is turning into a reality."

He recalled that "I remember 20 years ago, when I entered parliament, the most sought after thing in India at that time was to have a telephone connection. And, today, 20 years later, India is the largest and fastest developing telecom market."

"In fact, we have almost reached a level where our absorption will become slower. We have crossed 500 million connections in telephony, where it wasn't even a few million to begin with 20 years ago," he said.

Patel predicted the same kind of exponential growth for aviation in India, and harking back to 2004 again, said, at the time "for one day's train travel in India was equivalent to one year's air travel by all Indians put together."

"(But) In five years, from one, that figure has already gone to four," he said, and turning to Dinesh Keskar, president Boeing India, quipped, "This is going to be music to your ears Dinesh that if only 10 percent of Indians flew once a year, we will be requiring more than 2,000 planes to begin with in the next five years."

Patel said the "multiples are going to be very fast as in telecom, as in many other sectors. The multiples are exponential. The compound rate will be exponential."

He also said that as much as Air India was flying into Washington, DC, "I'll also be happy to see along with Air India's growth, other Indian carriers' growth into the United States."

Patel also hoped that a "lot more US carriers also should take the opportunity," to fly into India. "We must be mindful of the fact that there is only one Open Skies agreement which India has entered into with any country and that is with the United States. And, that shows how much we value the relationship between India and the IS and must be forged and must be taken from strength to strength."