The current economic downturn has not inhibited the growth of air charters to the same degree as the airlines. More and more corporate sector players are now venturing into the air charter business.

Scheduled air operations in India go back to 1932. In comparison, air charters—the non-scheduled complement of civil aviation—did not grow in corresponding proportions. In the last few years, however, air charters have shown signs of blooming and coming into their own and at last count, the number of registered companies in India was close to the century mark. Growing interest of global players in the Indian air charter segment has attracted expertise and experience from well-established international charter players from across the world. The current worldwide recession and the harrowing phase triggered by high aviation fuel prices has not inhibited the growth of air charters to the same degree as the visible repercussions on airlines.

One major and apparent reason for the boom in air charters is the growth in the number of customers who can afford air charter. This includes corporate houses which do not own aircraft and, of course, the large and ever growing number of High Networth Individuals (HNIs). Related to this is the discernible shift in perception about air charters. Earlier, air charters were considered a luxury, to flaunt status and affluence. That has now changed. A large majority today view these as necessary accoutrements to facilitate corporate and personal travel, mostly for those who often make last-minute travel plans or frequently visit remote destinations. The much advertised air charter benefits of flexibility, point-to point service, cost-effectiveness, convenience and privacy aid the cause of air charter as also the higher security assurance.

Drivers of Growth
Significantly, the state elections in 2008 and the Lok Sabha elections expected this year are also drivers of the air charter growth, largely on account of the heightened demand for helicopters. In anticipation, Reliance Industries, Essar and DLF have placed orders for helicopters; several other charter companies are also buying small helicopters, like the AU 109 and Bell 407, as the demand from political bigwigs will be huge and provide attractive returns on investment. Besides Augusta and Bell, Sikorsky helicopters S-76C++ and S-76D are also on their way to the Indian air charter milieu.

There are other heartening portents of a bright future for the air charter industry. Northeast Shuttles Ltd (NSL) has announced the launch of an air charter service in the Northeast using a nine-seater Cessna Caravan 208B aircraft which needs just a 1,700 ft air strip to get airborne—even a semiprepared surface will do. Ostensibly the first air charter service in that region, NSL will serve not only tourism but also aid development, besides making it easier to access small and remote areas. Understandably, this charter service will survive on subsidies from the North Eastern Council (NEC).

In a similar vein, by 2010 Pawan Hans plans to begin fixed-wing charter operations with services to the country’s outlying Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Reportedly employing amphibious aircraft, Pawan Hans will probably go on from there to provide air services to tourism and pilgrimage sites in Bangladesh, Maldives and Sri Lanka. Pawan Hans operates 36 of the 200-odd helicopters in India, including 17 Eurocopter SA365N Dauphins, nine Eurocopter AS365N3 Dauphins, three Bell 206s, one Robinson R44, two Mil Mi- 172s and four vh It also plans to purchase another 20 over the next few months (mostly Bell and Eurocopter helicopters) and charter them out for heli-tourism, offshore oil and gas exploration, and medical evacuation flights. Incidentally, Pawan Hans is probably the only company actually having a medevac helicopter in India—just one, in contrast to the 700-odd in the US. In July, Deccan Aviation started a helicopter charter service, Sky Limo, between Bengaluru airport and some points in the city. It also plans to launch a similar Sky Limo service in Mumbai between the airport and Nariman Point. At the moment, the service is constrained to operate during day time only but, as the helipads get cleared for night, it may get extended into the night as well.