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Business jets set to take off

It was not just defence deals and the booming civil aviation market that figured in Bangalore's Aero-India 2007 show. The growing potential for business jets in India also was much in evidence. With the economy growing steadily and the trade in Asia rising exponentially, the small aircraft manufacturers lost little time in targeting business houses and corporates in India; they came up with an own-your-aircraft offer. Those from the United States and Europe seem to be looking specifically to China and South East Asia, besides India. Globally, an estimated 14,000 business jets are operating and, of these, as many as 11,000 fly in the U.S. And Los Angeles alone has more than the 400 business jets the entire Asia-Pacific region — the region that has now emerged as a major aviation market — accounts for. For the record, India has about 80 business jets and, going by the market response to the Bangalore show, the number seems all set to rise significantly. Of the manufacturers, while Boeing and Airbus may be concentrating on the medium and long haul aircraft, Cessna, Embraer, Dassault and Gulfstream appear keen on tapping the small aircraft segment. Bombardier, which has set its sights on an exclusive design for corporate houses, fielded its `Global Express', an aircraft that can take on board 19 passengers and has space earmarked for dining and conferencing, apart from facilities for the crew. The aircraft, it is claimed, is capable of flying 12.5 hours at a stretch, without refuelling. It boasts a satellite phone and provides, as an optional facility, satellite television. The annual operational cost of such a business jet at 600 flying hours is placed at around $2 million — this includes parking fees and expenditure on crew — and the cost of the small aircraft itself may be $50 million plus.

It is not merely the large business houses and State governments that can afford to own and operate aircraft and thus free themselves from the vagaries of commercial air services. The profile of the aviation sector, which has recently seen a big spurt in private airlines, is clearly in for another major change. With the large-scale entry of business jets, the skies may well become congested before long, with all its obvious implications for the regulator. Crying for immediate attention and correctives are areas such as flight clearances, parking space, aircraft registration procedures — especially the foreign aircraft — and maintenance operations. It is for the various agencies and authorities involved in civil aviation to ensure that these concerns are addressed and the system is geared up for the changes in prospect.

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