India’s BA Industry as on Today

By Rajan Mehra CEO, Club One Air, Former India Head, Qatar Airways

The Covid crisis has hit most industries hard. However, the aviation industry, along with the hospitality and travel industries have been hit the hardest, with global losses estimated to be to the tune of 80 billion dollars. However, the good news is that the aviation industry has bounced back quicker than expected, with Business aviation leading the charge.

FLYING PRIVATE

If the Covid pandemic highlighted anything, it is how much safer and healthier it is to fly private! The luxury of private flying, which was typically associated with the rich and famous, is now focused on health and safety. With safety becoming paramount in the pandemic stricken world, and safety becoming a highly sought after commodity, Business aviation has bounced back with great speed.

We at Club One Air have seen an extremely healthy rise of 100 per cent in our passenger figures post covid period in the last few months. We have, of course, had to innovate and adapt to this new normal. Our aircraft are now completely sanitized, our crew medical history is now recorded and crew interface with clients is kept discreet. We provide sanitizers to all clients. We also see more passengers who flew private for their domestic requirements but chose to fly international through commercial airlines, given the cost factor, are now choosing to fly international through private charters too! These passengers who may have been using first or business class in commercial airlines, would now like the safety, convenience and hygiene of a private jet even though it may be somewhat more expensive. Corporate clients have also realised that when they travel in numbers of 9-10, the difference in the cost of a charter vis-à-vis a comparable business/first class seat is not extreme.

LACK OF GA/BA INFRASTRUCTURE AT MOST OF METRO AIRPORTS IN INDIA HAS BEEN A BIG IMPEDIMENT FOR THE GROWTH OF THIS SECTOR. THOUGH STEPS HAVE BEEN TAKEN IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, THE PACE WOULD NEED TO BE ACCELERATED.

We have also discovered that there is a new set of clients who have decided to shift from flying commercial to the inherent, inbuilt safety of flying private. They would not like to put their families and themselves to a crowded airport environment with hundreds of other passengers. The new General Aviation Terminal has made a huge difference for passengers who fly private. There are no queues, minimum interface with others and a very short distance to cover before you are in the aircraft. Whereas traditionally our flying profile was 70 per cent domestic and 30 per cent international, it is now 50 per cent each for international and domestic travel. We also see general aviation growing at a rapid pace post Covid.

I am confident that private aviation will grow exponentially, given the changing circumstances. Passengers now want to avoid the crowds at terminal buildings and would prefer spaces available in private aviation terminals. They also see many other benefits like immense time-saving, ability to fly from anywhere to anywhere at their own time-table and being able to cover multiple cities on the same day and time. However, the government needs to assist in accelerating the growth in this sector, along the same lines as the UDAN scheme.

REFORMS REQUIRED

Lack of GA/BA infrastructure at most of metro airports in India has been a big impediment for the growth of this sector. Though steps have been taken in the last few years, the pace would need to be accelerated. Also, airport operators have historically given preference to scheduled operators when it comes to landing, parking etc. Unfair/unjustified royalty or “revenue share” over and above the authorised charges for services like ground handling and maintenance, levied on BA/GA operators is making the business unviable. Some of the operational requirements specifically imposed on BA/GA industry, like AOR clearances before operating to military airports, restrict seamless operations of NSOP aircraft.

At Club One Air, we pride ourselves in providing global level services to our esteemed clients. Club One Air operates a state-of-the art fleets of business jets, which includes five Falcon 2000 aircraft, which are the most sought after luxury jets in the industry.