Business aviation in India, discounting an odd hiccup here and there, is in the ascendant for the coming years

As if the injury inflicted on the US business aviation industry by developments detrimental to aviation wasn’t enough, a prickly provision of the recently introduced Troubled Assets Relief Programme Bill piled on the insult. According to the Bill, companies bidding for and receiving federal bailout funds are required to relinquish their corporate fleets or jet leases as part of the bailout deal. The proposal is the fallout of outrage expressed by a section of the politicians over three heads of US car manufacturers flying to Washington on individual business jets on a joint mission to seek a government bailout. Saner voices insisting that the use of business jets was hardly the underlying cause for the economic state of the US were brushed aside even as the Bill’s provisions reflected the erroneous perception in aviation circles about business aviation, that it is less of a necessity and more of a luxury.

Back home, there is no such visible blow to the tenacious hold corporate houses maintain on their business aircraft. Perhaps because the clamour for bailout packages is neither as noisy nor the plight of most business houses so sorry as to attract public opprobrium for their aircraft holdings. Moreover, the US phenomenon, which in a single stroke rendered corporate aviation an icon of extravagance and callous affluence in times of economic downturn, is unlikely to be repeated here in India for the simple reason that with elections round the corner, business aircraft are going to be extensively utilised during the campaign. Indeed, several new helicopters are going to exercise their rotors in Indian skies just before electioneering commences in earnest.

Increasingly Attractive
In the last few months, over 30 airlines worldwide have either shut down or filed for bankruptcy, but the market for business aircraft has not registered a corresponding dip. A key reason is the fall in prices, rendering business jets more and more affordable. Business aircraft options in terms of size and variants are also expanding. Moreover, there is seemingly a change in perception of what business aviation represents from a macro viewpoint. The direct and tangible contribution that a business aircraft makes towards facilitating the functioning of a business enterprise is very difficult to quantify. It would be a good idea to view business aviation collectively as a national asset without breaking it up into component aircraft or holdings in terms of their owners.

According to one estimate, at least 10,000 entities in India have the wherewithal to own and operate at least one business aircraft. Some of these can easily afford more than one. A large number of business houses, such as Reliance Industries, Videocon, the UB Group, Raymond, GMR, Bharat Hotels, Taj Air and Oberoi, own aircraft including jets like Falcon, Cessna, Bombardier, Beech King and Gulfstream. One noticeable trend is the obfuscation between pure business aviation and charter operations. The latter is a secondary role and complementary inasmuch as it utilises gainfully the spare flying effort available on privately owned aircraft.

Understandably, the preference for aircraft types used for business purposes lean towards the jet barring a small minority opting for helicopters and/or turboprop aircraft due to limitations of airports where they operate from. Business jets represent some of the most technologically complex and advanced products being manufactured today. Breaking off from military hand-me-downs in the US, and starting with the Lockheed JetStar in 1957, business jet technology came into its own and has not looked back since then. Today, the business jet scene has an aircraft to match almost every need. There is the Very Light Jet with a small size, a small price tag, but a huge demand. Then there is the Super Sonic Business Jet which promises to provide a solution for the business traveller in a hurry to reach international destinations or even distant domestic ones in quick time.

Customised Service
Apart from these niche classes, business jets of all sizes and with all kinds of customised embellishments await the attention of corporate houses with the desire and the money to spend on fast travel for their owners and executives. The availability of diverse business jets is matched by the demand for them in India and there is no sign yet that there is going to be a sharp drop in that demand in the near future. Apparently, India Inc. is confident that the current global recession is transitory and the Indian growth story is far from over. The underlying message for business aviation in India holds good cheer for the future albeit last year’s estimates by the Business Aviation Association of India that the annual growth in the numbers of business aircraft in India would be 30 to 40 per cent over the coming years does not appear realistic at the moment.

Although traditionally, business aviation in India has been dominated by turboprop aircraft, the predilection for business jets has been manifest in recent times. According to Jose Eduardo Costas, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Asia-Pacific for Embraer executive jets, the last order from India was for a Legacy 600, a $28 million (Rs 138 crore) aircraft, and the order was placed as recently as November 2008. A total of 155 Legacy 600 planes have been ordered globally, including eight by Indian buyers. Four more are to be ordered soon. Currently, India is reported to have over 90 business jets and about 100 turbo-prop aircraft. Of the 20 orders worldwide for the Lineage 1000 priced at $45.25 million (Rs 222 crore), two are from India.