An Employment Generator

Business Aviation has, as its primary aim, the facilitation and empowerment of business entities by saving time for company principals and top management moving around to places they need to be personally present at. The benefit is self evident. If that is accepted as a given, in a very simplistic manner, it can be concluded that, by promoting the business interests (read profitability) of business entities, Business Aviation serves as an employment generator in the context of the company it sub-serves. India has a category of aircraft operators that is neither a scheduled airline nor a privately owned and privately used aircraft. This category operates aircraft under a Non-Scheduled Operator Permit (NSOP) and makes aircraft available for chartering on need basis. Although by definition, it does not form part of Business Aviation, it is included here for discussion as it complements Business Aviation. Moving on from that, a past report prepared under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) had reached the conclusion that for every 100 jobs created in the aviation sector, an additional 610 jobs are created in the local economy. This article looks at how Business Aviation purports to be an employment generator.

DIRECT EMPLOYMENT

The highest paid job and the one requiring the most advanced skill level is that of the cockpit crew. There is a huge premium on pilots, especially those qualified on business aircraft being used in small numbers. Indeed, there are quite a few expatriate pilots flying around in India despite all government efforts to bar them. In the case of the pilots thus there is employment available with Business Aviation but there are not enough Indian pilots to fill all the vacancies.

Aircraft Maintenance Engineers (AMEs) are the next in the order of salaries drawn in Business Aviation employment. With a stringent, internationally accepted system of licensing, AMEs are required to be qualified in either mechanical or avionics stream. Once qualified, they have the opportunity to work for aircraft operators including Business Aviation. A civil aircraft can fly only when certified fit to fly by an AME; hence the inescapable need for a Business Aviation operator to hire adequate number of AMEs on his payroll for meeting with the aircraft certification needs as well as some other regulatory oversight tasks requiring the availability of AMEs to ensure quality of engineering and documentation practices independently of the department actually carrying out those tasks. The number of pilots and AMEs required by Business Aviation is small but the jobs offer very high salary employment opportunities.

Every Business Aviation operator can either manage its own aircraft or outsource it to another entity permitted by regulations to manage aircraft. The operational staff ensure that regulatory requirements are met with and that flights are planned meticulously and executed smoothly through the various steps of fight planning, flight plan filing, obtaining of flight clearances including Air Defence Clearance (ADC), preparation of a trip kit including navigational log, navigational charts, weather briefing and Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) filtered specifically for that flight, preparation of Load & Trim Sheets and passenger manifests, arranging for crew pick-up for the flights, ensuring their pre-flight medical check-ups, customs and immigration formalities where applicable, security checks in the terminal buildings, air side surface movement for crew and passengers, and similar activities at the destination.

Airports in India do provide employment to a large number of personnel which is indirectly attributable to Business Aviation

In an airline, these and related activities require professionals who have adequate knowledge of aviation. In India for a scheduled airline, the actual flight dispatch process is mandatorily to be carried out by a qualified and current dispatcher but for Business Aviation, employing a dispatcher is not mandatory; whether a dispatcher is employed or not, some operational staff are definitely needed to carry out dispatch activities. In addition, there is a requirement to have staff to carry out paper work in relation to meeting with regulatory requirements such as crew documentation, air safety, manuals (a Business Aviation entity would require around 30 manuals to be prepared and kept current), Airport Entry Passes (AEPs) and permissions for company vehicles to ply on the airside (if applicable). Depending on the size of the entity (i.e. number of aircraft it holds on its fleet), these tasks could be carried out by a couple of employees or may require outsourcing of a large number of professionals.

INDIRECT CONTRIBUTION

Business aircraft come in all sizes and shapes and include fixed wing and rotary wing varieties. The large ones are actually the size of airliners whose interiors have been customised to the requirements of the business houses. Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJs) are examples of this type. The number of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) of aircraft is small but they employ a large number of professionals including engineers and managers. Once in service, the aircraft need to be maintained according to prescribed schedules and that is where the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) industry comes in. MRO again is an extensive industry worldwide and requires a large number of employees.

Aircraft, especially jets, are fuel guzzlers and require vast quantities of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) every time they fly; companies supplying ATF need to procure the fuel from refining companies, store it in bulk near or at airports, transport it from the bulk storage in fuel tankers to aircraft on the airside, and refuel them safely. For all this these companies need personnel who are trained and ready to work round-the-clock so that Business Aviation (and indeed all civil aviation) can continue on a 24X7 basis. Ground handling of business aircraft at their own base as well as destinations they visit is carried out by specially trained and equipped ground handling agencies which help to turn an aircraft around by cleaning its cabin, replenishing potable water, scavenging the toilets and so on.

In the United States (US) and Europe, Fixed Base Operators (FBOs) cater to the various requirements of Business Aviation such as a business lounge, ground handling, refueling, transportation on the airside, and facilitation of some of the other activities that go to support a Business Aviation aircraft every time it departs from or arrives at an airport. Most airports in India obtain their revenues largely from scheduled airline flights. Many are so small that airliners cannot operate from these but smaller airports like these could derive their revenue from Business Aviation. In the US, the number of airports served by business aircraft is much larger than those used by scheduled airlines. Airports in India do provide employment to a large number of personnel which is indirectly attributable to Business Aviation. There are also training academies which carry out the periodic training for crew and technical personnel as required by regulations.

CONCLUSION

Business Aviation has generally been viewed as a luxury resource for the affluent, the implication being that it is seen as a ‘want’ and not a ‘need’. However, beyond the mere status symbol of owning a business aircraft, the capability to be able to facilitate the movement of corporate leaders and decision makers to locations requiring their personal presence is a great enabler. Add to that, the fact that Business Aviation generates significant direct and a fair amount of indirect employment makes it even more attractive from the macro perspective. The foregoing discussion, rather brief in size, presents Business Aviation as an employment generator and hopes to change the perception of both - the public and the policy makers.