There are different ways in which aviation enthusiasts show their interest in flying and everything associated with it. Some try and spot different aircraft types as they take off or land, others try and understand the mechanism of how a plane flies and still others collect aviation merchandise.
That is why interest in scale models of civil aircraft, aviation-themed watches which have an aircraft on the seconds needle, pilot merchandise like bag tags used by pilots, tie-pins with a small aircraft, and other such items, seems to be growing.
“Plastic items are the top selling,” says Darshan V Bangera, promoter, DB Jets, adding that most of his customers come from among those for whom aviation is a hobby, collectors of trinkets, pilots and others connected with aviation. Bangera loves aviation and flying. Hence, the launch of DB Jets helped this former cabin crew member with Air India, whose career was cut short by a lower back injury just after a year, to live his dream.
There are many other aviation lovers like him. For example, at the Hyderabad Air Show in March this year, one saw Captain Ramesh Sanil, an Air India pilot with over three decades of experience, purchasing various tie-pins from the Flight 4 Fantasy stall.
“Stickers for flights, keychains, bag tags, tie-pins and cuff links, apart from aircraft models, are the five or six top items that a pilot is most likely to pick from such a store,” he said.
This interest in aviation merchandise is also helping entrepreneurs like Deepak Agarwal to cash in on demand.
Director of Bengaluru-based Flight 4 Fantasy, Agarwal launched his business in 2012 selling aircraft models by Hogan Wings, a scale model manufacturer based in Germany and Hong Kong. In 2015, he approached Airbus and today he sells official merchandise for Airbus and also AirAsia.
A spokesperson for Airbus told Business Line that such commercial agreements (like the one with Flight 4 Fantasy) provide an opportunity to aviation enthusiasts in India to own scale models of Airbus products. Airbus Europe has two resellers in India — Mach9Pilotshop and Flight 4 Fantasy. Agarwal’s four retail outlets, including one at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, report annual sales of around ₹80 lakh.
17/04/18 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line
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That is why interest in scale models of civil aircraft, aviation-themed watches which have an aircraft on the seconds needle, pilot merchandise like bag tags used by pilots, tie-pins with a small aircraft, and other such items, seems to be growing.
“Plastic items are the top selling,” says Darshan V Bangera, promoter, DB Jets, adding that most of his customers come from among those for whom aviation is a hobby, collectors of trinkets, pilots and others connected with aviation. Bangera loves aviation and flying. Hence, the launch of DB Jets helped this former cabin crew member with Air India, whose career was cut short by a lower back injury just after a year, to live his dream.
There are many other aviation lovers like him. For example, at the Hyderabad Air Show in March this year, one saw Captain Ramesh Sanil, an Air India pilot with over three decades of experience, purchasing various tie-pins from the Flight 4 Fantasy stall.
“Stickers for flights, keychains, bag tags, tie-pins and cuff links, apart from aircraft models, are the five or six top items that a pilot is most likely to pick from such a store,” he said.
This interest in aviation merchandise is also helping entrepreneurs like Deepak Agarwal to cash in on demand.
Director of Bengaluru-based Flight 4 Fantasy, Agarwal launched his business in 2012 selling aircraft models by Hogan Wings, a scale model manufacturer based in Germany and Hong Kong. In 2015, he approached Airbus and today he sells official merchandise for Airbus and also AirAsia.
A spokesperson for Airbus told Business Line that such commercial agreements (like the one with Flight 4 Fantasy) provide an opportunity to aviation enthusiasts in India to own scale models of Airbus products. Airbus Europe has two resellers in India — Mach9Pilotshop and Flight 4 Fantasy. Agarwal’s four retail outlets, including one at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, report annual sales of around ₹80 lakh.
17/04/18 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line
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