While offering an array of opportunities to owners, suppliers and operators for promotion of their products and services in the rapidly growing Indian market, the Aviation Expo focused on the removal of bottlenecks to ensure continued growth

The third Indian Business Aviation Expo (IBAE), organised by the Exhibitions India Group and MIU Events, was held at the Grand hotel, New Delhi, on February 21-22, 2012.

The expo provided a right platform enhancing both domestic and international business relationships and partnerships. Leading industry experts addressed the sessions proposing pragmatic solutions to the key issues related to the sector. The expo witnessed 40 per cent increase in the number of delegates with international participation from 10 countries and presence of 25 national and international speakers. Facts catering to additional business jet fleet and general aviation industry valuation were shared by the industry analysts during the inaugural session.

While offering an array of opportunities to owners, suppliers and operators for promotion of their products and services in the rapidly growing Indian market, the expo focused on the removal of bottlenecks to ensure continued growth.

Unveiling the white paper titled “General Aviation–Unfolding Horizons”, Naveen Jindal, Member of Parliament and Chairman and Managing Director, Jindal Steel and Power, felicitated PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for providing a comprehensive report comprising useful and intriguing insights into the industry. “The role of general aviation and business aviation in nation building” was highlighted by Jindal.

Rohit Kapur, President, Business Aircraft Operators Association (BAOA), and Dhiraj Mathur, Executive Director, PwC Private Ltd, emphasised the tangible issues pertaining to infrastructure. They highlighted the growth of infrastructure in Indian aviation industry and especially in the helicopter sector; need for alternative dedicated general aviation airports in metropolis, airstrips and heliports, and fixed base operators (FBOs) and maintenance repair overhaul (MRO) across the nation.

Subjects like “intangible challenges of regulatory framework, connectivity and communication” were analysed and the need for effective and transparent monitoring mechanisms was underlined.

The speakers said that active participation of the industry and the government can ensure India’s place as the third largest market for aviation in next five years. Kapil Kaul, CEO, South Asia, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, expressed the need for an increased transparent engagement between all key stakeholders within the sector. While sharing his concerns about demand and development of business aviation in India, he also mentioned the key enablers like training, physical framework, financial institutions, safety and security which require urgent attention.

The robust data with both present and projected figures was highlighted, thereby, shedding light on the upswing the sector is expected to experience in the coming years. Todd Hattaway, Regional Sales Director, India, Hawker Beechcraft, introduced MRO basics to the audience and said that the aviation industry is tough but exciting.