by Bikram Vohra
In the recent escape from the Covid crisis, there was much attention given to the top thousand-odd Indians who have the wealth to either own or hire private jets to fly to safer climes. This rush of publicity was given a further surge by rich Indians who were stranded as flights were grounded, there opting to take private jets to the Gulf countries, namely Dubai at IRS 500,000 a shot.
While bizzjets suddenly received publicity that they do not normally get in India as an aviation category and are still a nascent option, the awareness level has certainly struck a positive note in a time of great negativity. Still, this segment of the aviation industry has to go beyond getting excited over a spasm which is what the current increase was. And it does not in itself indicate a spike in the sales graph. What it does do is signpost the future.
With 209 billionaires and nearing 500,000 dollar millionaires, with over 3000 of them worth over $100 million, it is a thriving market that could be exploited, especially in the smaller jet market and certainly through a boost for fractional ownership. The Learjets and Cessnas are primed for targetting the new money entrepreneur whose numbers increase exponentially and whose mindset is more global than his generational predecessor, who baulks at the idea of investing in an aircraft. That sort of ‘extravagance’ has been seen as bad form and bad karma and, to an extent, ostentatious and tempting fate, thereby making the mindset a serious addition to the mental mix.
With Covid well into its second year and commercial aviation a wounded bird, the idea of travelling safely and with minimum exposure is likely to gain ground. Companies like Aurea, Jet Set Go and Taj Air are highly professional and are likely to benefit from this current lift in interest. While ground infrastructure might still be wanting as traffic builds up, the dedicated terminals will increase. In 2020 India inaugurated its first such facility in IGI New Delhi. The terminal can handle Code C type aircraft, which are 50-seater charter aircraft and the biggest in their category.
With 57 dedicated chartered aircraft parking bays, the newly developed apron is spread over an area of eight lakh square feet.
India’s under forty-five corporate sector is slowly seeing the value of flying without the hassle of catching a scheduled flight and the time lost in transit. With bizjets living up to their names in being offices in the sky, the sudden publicity is sure to have Finance departments seeing the advantage of investing in corporate aircraft.
While the Boeing and Airbus variants of the A320 and the BBJ 737 are still beyond the reach of most billionaires at $79 million green and the costs of maintaining aircraft and crew an added cost aircraft like Embraer’s Phenom, the Gulfstream series and Bombardier’s Challenger 350 and 650 and the Global series could probably get traction. At present, India has about 1000 private craft, including the government machines, and about 500 of these registered aircraft are choppers, comfortable for short runs but not in competition for long-distance flights.
Much of the success of bizjets in the Indian market will depend on the approach adopted by manufacturers. They know the money is there, and so is the client. The idea is to get to him.
For one, it is the two-tier cities that have the wealth. Towns that are now metros like Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mysore, Hyderabad,Nagpur, Kanpur number about 200, and that is where there are aspirational and highly successful business people. There is an estimated market of at least another 1000 jets in the small and medium categories over the next ten years if the education and the marketing exercise hit the right note.
While exclaiming over the Ambanis and the Bachchans life in the air makes for fun fashion stories, India’s media seldom has taken up the challenge of giving bizjets their deserved place. It has always been seen as declasse in a nation that reveres poverty and the ascetic as a sign of virtue but things are changing and the first manufacturer on board will be a happy camper.
To be upfront, the ball is now in the court of the major aircraft manufacturers who must make their presence felt.
While bizjets suddenly received the publicity that they do not usually get in India as an aviation category and are still a nascent option, the awareness level has undoubtedly struck a positive note in a time of great negativity. This segment of the aviation industry has to go beyond getting excited over a spasm, which is the current increase. And it does not in itself indicate a spike in the sales graph. What it does do is signpost the future.
With 209 billionaires and nearing 500,000 dollar millionaires with over 3000 of them worth over $100 million, it is a profitable market that could be exploited, especially in the smaller jet market, and certainly through a boost for fractional ownership. The Learjets and Cessnas are primed for targeting the new money entrepreneur whose numbers increase exponentially and whose mindset is more global than his generational predecessor, who baulks at the idea of investing in an aircraft. That sort of ‘extravagance’ has been seen as bad form and bad karma and to an extent, ostentatious and tempting fate, thereby making the mindset a serious add to the mental mix.
With Covid well into its second year and commercial aviation a wounded bird, the idea of travelling safely and with minimum exposure is likely to gain ground. Companies like Aurea, Jet Set Go and Taj Air and are all highly professional and are likely to benefit from this current lift in interest. While ground infrastructure might still be wanting as traffic builds up, the dedicated terminals will increase. In 2020 India inaugurated its first such facility in IGI New Delhi. The terminal can handle Code C type aircraft, which are 50-seater charter aircraft and the biggest in their category.
With 57 dedicated chartered aircraft parking bays, the newly developed apron is spread over an area of eight hundred thousand square feet.
India’s under forty-five corporate sector is slowly seeing the value of flying without the hassle of catching a scheduled flight and the time lost in transit. With bizjets living up to their names in being offices in the sky, the sudden publicity is sure to have Finance departments seeing the advantage of investing in corporate aircraft.
While the Boeing and Airbus variants of the A320 and the BBJ 737 are still beyond the reach of most billionaires at $79 million green and the costs of maintaining aircraft and crew an added cost aircraft like Embraer’s Phenom, the Gulfstream series and Bombardier’s Challenger 350 and 650 and the Global series could probably get traction. At present, India has about 1000 private craft, including the government machines, and about 500 of these registered aircraft are choppers, comfortable for short runs but not in competition for long-distance flights.
Much of the success of bizjets in the Indian market will depend on the approach adopted by manufacturers. They know the money is there, and so is the customer. The idea is to get to him.
For one, it is the two-tier cities that have the wealth. Towns that are now metros like Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mysore, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Kanpur number about 200, and that is where there are aspirational and highly successful business people. There is an estimated market of at least another 1000 jets in the small and medium categories over the next ten years if the education and the marketing exercise hit the right note.
While exclaiming over the Ambanis and the Bachchans life in the air makes for fun fashion stories, India’s media seldom has taken up the challenge of giving bizjets their deserved place. It has always been seen as declasse in a nation that reveres poverty and the ascetic as a sign of virtue, but things are changing, and the first manufacturer on board will be a happy camper.
To be upfront, the ball is now in the court of the major aircraft manufacturers who must make their presence felt.
