It?s not just the airlines that are on an aircraft-buying spree. There are 230 aircraft owned by Indian business tycoons and non-aviation companies circling the sky. It was just six in 1990. But now private aircraft are about two-thirds the size of the domestic airline fleet in numbers.
The craze for private jets is spreading. DGCA expects the number to exceed 300 by December, riding on a booming economy. ?The demand for private jets and helicopters in the country would rise to around 300 to 400 in the next three to five years,? said civil aviation minister Praful Patel recently.
It?s not just the big corporates that are buying these airplanes. Mining companies in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand have recently sought permission to acquire and import about 80 helicopters, despite the hefty price tag. The number of small airplane owners has gone up to 76 in FY08, up from 36 in 2000.
A single engine Cessna costs about $5 million and a high-end Gulfstream, which can fly Delhi-London non-stop, $50 million. The top ones come fitted with features like a personal bedroom, office space, modern communication facilities and even Jacuzzis.
The planes are cluttering up the thin airport resources of the country. The government plans to write a policy to set up small airstrips. ?We need a few hundred more air strips for general aviation (business jets and charters) soon,? said KN Srivastava, joint secretary in the civil aviation ministry.
Big players of the Indian aviation are now trying to grab a pie of this booming market. Kingfisher Airlines last year bought 50% in a US-based maker of very light jets, Epic Aviation, for $120 million. Sensing the potential, at least a dozen companies?including manufacturers like Textron Bell, Gulfstream, Embraer, Dassault and Bombardier?are drawing up plans to tap the local market.