Chennai: On April Fools’ day last year, an online marketplace for ‘everything with an engine’ Droom, put out an offer. “Want a plane? Buy one online on Droom now!” it shouted. It was a joke, of course, and one that the company’s founders had a good laugh about. But three months and several serious requests later, Droom had no choice but to make the joke a reality.
The anecdote, narrated by Droom co-founder Rishab Malik on how they began renting private planes and helicopters in August 2015, is a sign. No longer are chartered flights — both private jets and helicopters, limited to a minute fraction of the Indian populace. As the number of millionaires and billionaires in the country increases, so does the demand for the exotic.
And what is more exotic than celebrating a birthday on a private jet to Goa?
“Yes, it’s a high glamour category, especially for an online aggregator, but we are seeing an increasing demand for such things,” observed Malik, when asked whether taking something this niche online actually works.
To be fair, Droom has not managed to sell either of the private jets it has for sale. But what it is selling is around three ‘aerial experience’ packages a month. During peak times, the transaction volume goes up to as much as seven.
Droom is not the only such provider. Kanika Tekriwal’s startup JetSetGo had begun offering chartered flights online. “We wanted to ensure people with diverse financial backgrounds have the option to travel by private jet,” said Tekriwal, founder of JetSetGo, during the launch of its JetSteals program. JetSteals has prices ranging from Rs 4,600 to Rs 45,000 and allows passengers to book seats on private jets to regions in India that commercial flights do not take.
26/06/16 Jonathan Ananda/New Indian Express
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The anecdote, narrated by Droom co-founder Rishab Malik on how they began renting private planes and helicopters in August 2015, is a sign. No longer are chartered flights — both private jets and helicopters, limited to a minute fraction of the Indian populace. As the number of millionaires and billionaires in the country increases, so does the demand for the exotic.
And what is more exotic than celebrating a birthday on a private jet to Goa?
“Yes, it’s a high glamour category, especially for an online aggregator, but we are seeing an increasing demand for such things,” observed Malik, when asked whether taking something this niche online actually works.
To be fair, Droom has not managed to sell either of the private jets it has for sale. But what it is selling is around three ‘aerial experience’ packages a month. During peak times, the transaction volume goes up to as much as seven.
Droom is not the only such provider. Kanika Tekriwal’s startup JetSetGo had begun offering chartered flights online. “We wanted to ensure people with diverse financial backgrounds have the option to travel by private jet,” said Tekriwal, founder of JetSetGo, during the launch of its JetSteals program. JetSteals has prices ranging from Rs 4,600 to Rs 45,000 and allows passengers to book seats on private jets to regions in India that commercial flights do not take.
26/06/16 Jonathan Ananda/New Indian Express
