The Indian commercial air travel sector may be facing turbulent times due to the rise in fuel prices and passenger traffic might be hitting a low. But another sector has reason to cheer. Even the minister of civil aviation, Praful Patel agrees that the Indian private jet sector is all set to explode and hit the 500 aircraft mark within the next three to five years. The country?s high net worth individuals (HNI) are acquiring their own private jets at record speed.

So how can the aircraft makers be far behind. US-based Cessna and Hawker Beechcraft are running neck and neck in their fight to dominate the Indian market. Other players, especially Gulfstream, Embraer and Bombardier, are fast catching up in their segments too.

All the major players have already announced or are preparing to launch major distribution and after-sales maintenance facilities in the country to expand and catch a major chunk of the Indian private aircraft market.

Recently, Hawker Beechcraft opened its exclusive maintenance and distribution office through its exclusive franchise partnership with Gurgaon based Interglobe Aviation at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. But India still has a long way to go in terms of developing the market.

The country?s more than 1,00,000 HNIs with assets worth more than $1 million are snapping up these mean flying machines at mind-boggling prices for their business and personal use without a thought for banalities like the environment.

So after the Bentleys and the Rolls Royces, India?s super rich are now looking at Gulfstreams and Aerion jets.

From sleek VLJs (very light jets) that come with a price tag of around $5 million to Gulfstreams with a price tag of $50 million, travelling in style never got better. At least six HNIs from India have already placed orders for the supersonic Aerion jet priced at a whopping $80 million. The aircraft is expected to come into production in 2012, but already six Indians among 80 globally have put up around $5,00,000 to book their Aerion.

Both the Centre of Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) agree that the number of private jets in India has jumped from barely two dozen five years ago to around 200 now and is expected to touch around 500 in another three to five years.

The current private jet market in India is valued around Rs 400 crore, and there are around 150 such jets in the country.

?This is very small compared to the around 30,000 turbine aircraft flying in the US, but India is seeing an addition of around 50 to 60 aircraft a year,? says Manav Singh, managing director, Club One Air. An air charter service for corporate and HNIs which offers a unique ?fractional ownership? payment method, Club One Air enables a customer to own shares of an aircraft. This varies from anywhere between 1/16th of the cost of the aircraft to owning it completely, with maintenance taken care of by the company, depending on the type of aircraft.

The model is being implemented by the Briley Group and Tata Group joint venture, BJETS.

According to sources, the DGCA has already given the green signal to around 70 odd companies to buy about 100 business and personal aircraft since the beginning of this year. These include a smorgasboard of VLJs, helicopters, turboprops (propeller driven aircraft), helicopters and huge business jets fitted with boardroom like interiors and state of the art entertainment and communications equipment.

The huge potential for business and private jets has led to a surge in charter operators as well. At last count there were around 30 operators, including Manav Singh promoted Club One Air and Ranbaxy promoted Ran Air. And the international majors are also coming ? be it Briley Group promoted BJETS or Warren Buffet promoted NetJets. Even Europe based ExecuJet and VistaJet are all set to offer their services on the subcontinent.

NetJets has tied up with Ashish Chordia promoted Shreyans that deals in super luxury goods like Porshe and Fendi in the country.

Most companies who buy their own aircraft to increase business efficiency like real estate major DLF Group, TVS Motors, power and airport major GMR Group and consumer durables giant Videocon have all received permission to buy or lease corporate jets. Others like Reliance Industries, the UB Group and the Raymonds Group, which already have corporate jets, are adding to their fleet.

Videocon already has a Beech King Air 350, DLF a Gulfstream and a Sikorsky S-92, TVS Motors a Beechcraft Superking Air B-200 and Reliance Industries an Airbus A319 CJ, a Falcon 900EX and a Global Express XRS apart from others.

The demand is so huge that some jet makers like Gulfstream are looking at setting up maintenance facilities in India to serve the growing corporate clientele. Sensing a burgeoning market, commercial airlines like Air Deccan are also looking at starting corporate charter airlines.

Experts believe buying a jet may be cheaper than chartering in the long run as the hourly flying cost of an owned jet is around Rs 35,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh, as against a total cost for a chartered aircraft which is around Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 3.5 lakh.

Some of the biggest private jets like the Gulfstream or Bombardier Global Express owned by Mukesh Ambani and LN Mittal have a range of 6,400 nautical miles. There are frills too. You can find facilities like king-size beds, internet and phone connections, and a dedicated service crew, including an onboard gourmet chef.

The new corporate jets ordered by the country?s new rich primarily include offerings from the stables of Gulfstream, Bombardier Citation XL, Embraer Legacy, Beechcraft Falcon and Airbus and Boeing. The orders are mainly coming from companies involved in mining, oil and gas, manufacturing, retail and construction.

But why are Indians falling over each other to buy jets at such extraordinary prices? The answer, according to Ankur Bhatia of the Bird Group is simple. The amount of time saved and flexibility allowed due to the ownership of a private aircraft is unrivalled. According to a study by Bombardier, every 400 hours flown on a private jet saves a business man around a month?s time. And well, ?time is money? says an aviation analyst from Mukesh Ambani?s Reliance Industries.

Even the Prime Minister?s office believes in this model of efficiency in operations. The Indian Air Force has ordered three Boeing Business jets for the Prime Minister?s international travel. Of these, two have already been delivered and are being refurbished, while the third is on its way.