Invision Air plans to fly VLJs for air taxi service

Mumbai: Air taxis operated with small aircraft called very light jets or VLJs — a phenomenon that has captured the imagination of the North American market — will soon make an entry into India.
Invision Air, a Mumbai-based telecom antenna company getting into the general aviation business beginning next year, is planning to launch an air taxi by 2010. The company has recently ordered 20 such aircraft (Phenom 100), worth about $70 million, from the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer.
Seeding the market before the arrival of the Phenom VLJs, the company plans to start charter aircraft operation early next year with Cessna Citation CJ-1 aircraft. Speaking to ET, the company’s promoter Vinit Phatak said, “There is a huge gap in the market between the club/first class passenger and the executive jet owner.”
The first phase of operations will be with leased Cessna planes for charter flights. Invision Air will invest close to $15 million in the operations in the initial phase, Mr Phatak said. The company will subsequently scale up to air taxi operations, offering flights on demand at airports across the country.
VLJs have operating costs similar to turboprops and piston-engined planes, which have historically dominated the small aircraft market. The new breed of aircraft have attracted much attention for being lighter and more economical than the older-generation planes.
30/11/07 Economic Times

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Categories: Foreign Nov 2007, General Aviation Nov 2007, New Nov 2007