Helicopter taxis ready for take-off

Pune: 11 of 20 non-scheduled operator permits (NSOPs) issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation from January to July are to helicopter operators.
Amongst those who believe that the time of the air-taxi has come is Pune-based Gautam Pashankar, Chairman, Pashankar Group, that has interests in real estate amongst other businesses.
With the NSOP in the pipeline, he has booked one Bell helicopter, and plans to eventually operate a five-copter fleet under the aegis of Sahyadri Aviation Pvt Ltd, a new group company.
With a proposed outlay of Rs 100 crore, Pashankar also proposes to set up a heli-base on six acres at Nande near Pune, where owners can park helicopters for a fee, and get maintenance services thanks to a tie-up with Air Works India Engineering Pvt Ltd.
His target group is the leisure traveller. "We are putting up a luxury villa project at Ratnagiri. This service is essentially for people who want to travel back and forth between these two destinations, and I will provide six persons 20 free trips annually for five years after taking possession of the property," says Pashankar, adding that charter bookings make the air-taxi an economically viable project.
According to Sujay Sumbh, Senior Vice-President, Global Vectra Helicorp Ltd, India's largest private helicopter company with a 29-strong fleet, and five more in the pipeline, religious tourism, particularly visits to prominent shrines are on the rise.
The typical duration for hire of an air-taxi is two-three days for corporate charters and 10-30 minutes for shuttle services.
27/08/09 BusinessLine/Sify

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Aug 2009, New Aug 2009