Business charter companies hit air pocket

New Delhi: With India Inc going through turbulent times owing to low spending, the business charter segment has hit an air pocket. Sales of business charter aircraft providers have seen considerable dip in the last four months due to lack of demand from the corporate sector.
Club One Air has seen a 30-40% decline in demand over the last four months, while Taj Air’s private charter flights have hit an all-time low. Experts say if this trend continues many of the air charter companies (about 89 have permits to run the services) will face a tough time and may have no option but to shut shop or sell out.
There are about 250 charter aircraft in India out of which 150 are privately owned. Companies use these charters for the purpose of business travel and private trips. With slowdown in business, the need to avail of the services of these expensive charters has seen a drop.
Corporate flying in India is expensive compared with other countries. In the Middle East, a corporate business jet costs around $6,000 per hour, while in the US it costs around $5,000 per hour. On the other hand, in India, the cost goes up to $8,000-9000 an hour.
01/11/08 Nitasha Chawla/Economic Times

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Nov 2008