From the Editor-in-Chief

The lead story focuses on one of the major bottle necks in the aviation sector – MRO in India. Air Works India is perhaps the most well-known MRO company in India and has faced all possible challenges over the last 50 years. Ravi S. Menon, Executive Director of Air Works and one the most respected aviation professionals, takes us through their journey, the highs and the lows and what he sees as the future of MRO in India.

One problem that a prospective buyer of a business jet is invariably confronted with is the selection of the platform that would meet with the full spectrum of his requirement. It is therefore in the best interest of the business house to involve a professional agency with the requite knowledge, expertise and experience in this field to make the final selection of the platform. In this issue of the magazine, there is a comprehensive article on the subject by A.K. Sachdev.

Another vexing issue that plagues business and general aviation in India is the tax structure. Import duty and other taxes applied to import of business jets for private use are inordinately high. This certainly needs to be rationalised to make it more affordable for business houses to import aircraft under private ownership and not resort to NSOP. Apart from this there is also the need to bring Aviation Turbine Fuel under the GST regime to lower operating costs significantly. A review of this problem by B.K. Pandey has been included in this issue.

One of the more serious problems that is proving to be an impediment to the growth of business aviation in India, is that of inadequacy of dedicated airport infrastructure. The business and general aviation aircraft have so far not received the attention of agencies responsible for planning the growth of airport infrastructure. There is a need on the part of the Ministry of Civil Aviation as well as the state governments to addres this issue to facilitate a healthy growth of the business and general aviation. A write up on this nagging problem by RK Bali, Managing Director, BAOA has been included. In his second article in this issue, RK Bali highlights the pressing need for the Indian civil aviation regulatory authorities to reclassify air transport operations as also to frame appropriate safety regulations for business and general aviation aircraft so that the full potential of the civil aviation industry can be exploited.

A major business aviation event in the recent past has been the NBAA’s Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition. The event was distinctly oriented towards the future of business aviation and there was considerable optimism about its prospects in the coming decades. This issue of BizAvIndia carries a detailed report of the event.

We at SP’s wish the entire BA/GA community “Happy Holidays” and look forward to interacting with you again in the New Year!

Safe take-offs and landings!

J. Baranwal
Editor-in-Chief