New Delhi: The keenest contest of 2014 is up in the air. As poll season revs up, rival parties vie to cover maximum ground in minimum time and the hottest item in demand is a chopper. Price? No problem.
Every time Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi take a chopper to an election rally, they draw up an hourly tab of up to Rs 3 lakh per helicopter. When they jet off from one city to another, the cost may be as high as Rs 5 lakh by the hour. That's the going rate for chartered aircraft, say industry sources.
Facing soaring demand, charter firms' rates have taken flight. The companies are seeking minimum 45-day contracts of three to four hours' daily flying to hire out their planes to parties. At current rates, industry insiders estimate the big two — BJP and Congress — could spend anywhere from Rs 70 crore to Rs 90 crore each on giving wing to their poll prospects.
09/03/14 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
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Every time Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi take a chopper to an election rally, they draw up an hourly tab of up to Rs 3 lakh per helicopter. When they jet off from one city to another, the cost may be as high as Rs 5 lakh by the hour. That's the going rate for chartered aircraft, say industry sources.
Facing soaring demand, charter firms' rates have taken flight. The companies are seeking minimum 45-day contracts of three to four hours' daily flying to hire out their planes to parties. At current rates, industry insiders estimate the big two — BJP and Congress — could spend anywhere from Rs 70 crore to Rs 90 crore each on giving wing to their poll prospects.
09/03/14 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
