Pilots go for business class

When Rohit Gulati started flying in the early 1990s, he had little idea how soon his career would take off on a different trajectory. Having flown for state governments and airlines in India, he realized after the initial years that his heart lay in corporate flying. He's not alone. Pilots in commercial airlines are increasingly looking at working for business houses.
The reasons for this course change are simple, really. There might have been the economic downturn, but things are looking up in corporate aviation. While it's still in its infancy compared to the US (see 'My Piper helps me avoid Detroit traffic' ), it's slowly getting there.
According to Directorate General of Civil Aviation figures, India's general aviation fleet was 573 two years ago. This has now gone up to 681, with 104 being business jets and the rest, other planes and helicopters. By 2018, predicts the Business Aircraft Operators Association (BAOA), this will exceed 250 corporate jets.
As companies in diverse sectors such as IT, mining and hospitality expand their network to Tier-II cities, high net worth individuals have begun buying their own planes instead of queuing up at crowded airports. Planes, sometimes costing up to $50 million, are no longer a luxury but a necessity. Be it Tata, DLF, Reliance, Unitech, India Bulls or Essar, the well-oiled wheels of these setups hinge on how fast their top management can be flown around, be it Bombardiers, Falcons, Gulfstreams or Citations. And they naturally require pilots.
04/09/11 Shobha John/Times of India

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Sep 2011