During polls, copter demand skyrockets

Mumbai: With the country in the midst of assembly polls in a few states and general elections not too far away, the helicopter charter industry in India seems to have left recession several nautical miles behind. In the last three months as many as 40 chopper import permissions have been granted by the government.
The 40 import permissions, amounting to Rs 600 crore by conservative estimates, speak volumes about the fast-growing popularity of these machines in a country which had only 190 civil choppers till now.
While it is well known that demand for these utility vehicles always skyrockets prior to elections, what has made the industry sit back and take notice is the sudden surge in supply.
The most popular choice of wings is the Bell 407 which makes for fifteen out of the 40 orders.
While most companies have gone in for one import permissions, companies like A K Aviation in Mumbai, Skymaster Aviation and K R Chawla Pvt Ltd in Delhi have placed multiple import orders. While the names of charter companies may seem obscure, most of these are the aviation arms of corporates. For instance, Ryan Air Services which got permission to import one Bell 430 in September is promoted by Ranbaxy. Similarly, Jupiter Aviation of Bangalore is promoted by former BPL chief Rajeev Chandrashekar and it plans to import one Eurocopter AS 365 N3.
The demand has sure been high this time around. ‘‘As six states are going to the polls the demand is extremely high this time around,’’ says Capt Uday Gelli, president, western region, Rotary Wing Society of India.
In India, though there is a trend towards buying helicopters prior to every parliamentary election, the current rise in supply is unprecedented. So there is a word of caution from the industry. ‘‘It remains to be seen how many of these import permissions will actually translate into purchases,’’ says Capt Gelli.
20/11/08 Manju V/Times of India

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Nov 2008