Will the Private Jets in India ‘take off’?

Private Jets, a service that was once only admired from a distance, is now at a point where it can be availed even by, what we call, the ‘middle-class’ of the society. The progress has been brought about by the increasing number of companies in this stream of business and higher potency of the affluent class. Even after being easily available to all sets of individuals, the private jets work as an ultimate productivity tool for corporate honchos.

The frequency of charter plane transits has also shot in the past years, according to the ‘India Aviation Report 2016’ there were a minimum of 81 million trips that the charter planes flew. This marks an astounding 20.3% growth in the number of flights taken, as compared to Jan-Dec 2015. It is the highest growth rate recorded in the world—giving you a clear idea of how quickly the Private Jet business is growing.

Amidst all the growth and increasing popularity of the private jets, people are still assertive of the belief that these charter flights are solely for the crème de la crème of the society.  As understood by us, private flying is not a regular transit option and definitely not a cheap affair. It is a convenient, efficient and cost-effective option for executives that take frequent flights around the country in a single day or over a period of two days.

A challenge towards the growth along with the stagnant disinterest of a major group of executives is the steep import duty on these charter flights. The import duty is as high as 19% (Basic duty: 3%+CVD: 12%+ Spl. CVD 4%) on most charter flights. It also rises to 26% on Phenom 100 (light jet), and this is only one of the few, that fall under this category. The growing import duty is becoming a problem for many Private Jet service providers.

The growing interest for investors in the Private Jets markets; and the rise of new companies in this sector has indicated a good start to this year with reference to the private jets market. India has a number of different service providers when it comes to booking private charters and all of them have their unique style of business. While there is one that rents private jets without even owning them, some rent jets that are owned by their company and some while doing the same, have adopted an online platform – even booking charters is now a click away. Even with their own different styles and techniques most of them have reported a ‘good’ start to the year.

The market for private jets has been around in India for a very long time now, but hasn’t found its place in and around many executives yet. Although, this is set to change with time and with regards to the lucrative nature of this market. The growth that has been reported in the recent market reports also plays a key role in identifying the future of this market.

Private jet offerings look flat on the exterior, but are very vast on the core. A private jet seems like a one word description of the idea of flying private to an outsider, but once you’ve made that choice, it is important to know the variety of private jets available at hand for you to choose from according to your travel requirement. With the offerings of private charters being available online, the game has changed to a large extent. Booking a charter has become as easy as ordering a pizza!

Bibliography

https://home.kpmg.com/in/en/home/media/press-releases/2016/03/aviation-report-march.html

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/uber-of-skies-jetsetgo-soars-high-records-700-growth-in-revenue/articleshow/59231269.cms

https://www.forbes.com/sites/krnkashyap/2016/10/28/indias-fast-growing-aviation-market-spurs-boom-in-private-charter-jet-startups/#999340a475a5