Flying on the campaign trail yet to take off

Mumbai: Monsoon clouds are still looming on the outskirts of Maharashtra, the YSR chopper crash is fresh in public memory, the financial slowdown has not yet lifted, austerity is popular on the campaign trail and landing a chopper in a hamlet hit by the agrarian crisis may seem insensitive. Put these factors together and you could understand why few aircraft have been chartered so far by netas on the campaign trail.
It's a dull season this time around and election fever is yet to catch on, say operators. As of now, the Shiv Sena has hired a King Air B-200, a turbo prop aircraft, and has started flying to rural areas. Chief minister Ashok Chavan hired an EC-135 chopper, and NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal is expected to get a chopper to fly from Nashik to the surrounding vote-banks. An Independent candidate from Kolhapur has leased a Bell 206 chopper. Other than that, there is not much general aviation right now on the campaign trail, say sources who add that more aircraft may be hired after nominations are completed towards the end of September. In the three weeks or so left to go for polls, about 600 to 700 hours of chartered aircraft flight time is expected to be logged in Maharashtra.
"Aircraft usage has dropped drastically this time,'' says Pradip Thampi, director, Executive Airways, an aircraft charter company. He attributed the drop to the financial slowdown, austerity drives and farmer suicides. Aircraft hiring rates too have not skyrocketed, as is common during the pre-poll season. The non-scheduled aircraft fleet in the country has grown more than three times since the 2004 assembly polls. With supply going up and demand falling, hiring an aircraft has become cheaper and easier.
22/09/09 Manju V/Times of India

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Sep 2009, Safety Sep 2009