Ratan Tata readies plan to enter aviation business

Mumabi: Ratan Tata may have given up plans to get into civil aviation but the chairman of the $72 billion Tata Group is putting pieces together to be a major player in the general aviation space. Tata, a trained pilot, is working out deals with international players for business jets, helicopters as well as for aircraft management and maintenance services. Investments in this space are being driven by the group's two main holding companies, Tata Sons and Tata Industries.
The group is in talks with Florida-based Avantair to establish a partnership in India, where use of private planes by companies is on the rise. Avantair's business model is of fractional ownership, giving individuals and businesses the benefits of whole aircraft ownership at a fraction of the cost. The firm intends to emulate its US programme here, said sources familiar with the plans. "Discussions including the equity structure of the venture are at an early stage," they added. If things work out as planned, it will be the salt-tosoftware conglomerate's second investment in a fractional jet operator after Singapore's BJETS in February 2008.
01/09/11 Reeba Zachariah & Boby Kurian/Times of India

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Sep 2011, New Sep 2011