B/CA Show News - NBAA 2007 Day 1 - (Page 72) INDIA EMERGES N BA A 2007 India’s Infrastructure Impedes Sales In a country where the fiery expansion of the Indian The implementation of the project will help ease that lack of MRO facilities for GA aircraft with only line maintenance available drives up the cost of aviation sector is led by a dramatic growth in the the congestion,” said an airport official. Of the 270 private airplanes in India, 50% are maintenance. For all heavy maintenance, aircraft economy, it’s ironic that business aviation has been owned by nonscheduled airline operators (charter and components must go to Singapore, Dubai, Euhit most as a result of infrastructure restraints. Things are on an upswing with around 360 service providers) and the rest by corporate houses, rope or the U.S., depending on the type of aircraft and component being maintained or overhauled. general aviation aircraft in India growing by one governments and individuals. However, Duvvuri is optimistic. “There is a quiet The strong demand needs to be tapped. “The (primarily pre-owned) aircraft per week. Cessna remains the most popular with 148 aircraft in the story for high-end corporate jets has only just begun revolution going on. At the end of the day, ecocountry. There is an increasing trend of looking at in India and will take off in the next three to four nomics will have to drive the industry. This is a temyears. Today we are setting up base for that big porary glitch, as once the infrastructure of the 30 Dassault Falcons, 19 of which are flying in India. Meanwhile, the Business Aviation Association of boom,” says Bombardier vp and chief country rep- nonmetro airports comes up, space will be available to business jets.” India estimates general aviation is likely to grow resentative Srinivas Duvvuri. Bombardier opened a sales by 30-40%. With more than office in Mumbai last year and 700,000 Indians accounting for is waiting for approval to set up a cumulative wealth of $3 billion, a service center “hopefully in this comes as no surprise. Orders Mumbai” by the first quarter in 2006 saw the fleet double from of 2008. 50 in 2005. Competitor Dassault, which Deregulation of government claims 80% market share in control, availability of finances, India for premium business eased regulations for foreign jets, has Ratan Tata, chairman investment in Indian companies of the Tata Group, and and, paradoxically, the painful exMukesh Ambani, head of Reperience of travel on commerliance Industries, among its cial jets are driving this growth. customers. As major businesses and high Cessna and Raytheon say net-worth individuals line up to an increasing number of become aircraft owners, another BAAI’s Karan Singh laments India’s lack of GA terminals, ground handling, and heliports. queries are being converted segment—medium (and some Boeing Business Jets has a long-standing pres- into orders. small) companies—is also looking at buying aircraft. “We sold five aircraft in the past eight years. But Presently some 300 applications for import of GA ence in the region. A BBJ spokesman says, “We conaircraft are pending with the government; 100 were tinue to deepen relationships with our existing as during 2005 and 2006, we have already sold 11 well as potential customers and increase awareness Citation jets,” said Michael McGreevy, Cessna’s cleared last year. Corporate jets are no longer a status symbol in of our product line. The Indian Ministry of Defense regional sales director for India, Pakistan and India and are now following the U.S model of trans- operates four 737-200 airplanes. In December 2005 West Asia. Raytheon sold nine aircraft last year. ferring executives from headquarters to their work- the MOD ordered three new Boeing 737 BBJs for With more general aviation aircraft and heliplaces. “Besides, orthodox companies, once averse their VIP squadron to replace the government’s exto spending on corporate jets, are now finding it isting fleet of 737-200s. We are on track for deliv- copters to be added in the next four years, and a big market for pre-owned aircraft, there is the added ery for those.” cost-effective,” says a KPMG India analyst. Bombardier’s corporate jets—Learjet, Challenger problem of inadequate pilots and engineers to opLack of space at airports is becoming a major hurdle as commercial aviation expands. DKMA and Global Express—are selling well in India with erate them. Lack of availability and long waiting periods for in cooperation with Airports Council International an order for six in the works. Hawker Beechcraft is says that for the 15 airports in India that reported gearing up for the corporate jet market, and recently new aircraft have major manufacturers giving up to traffic figures to ACI, passengers increased from appointed InterGlobe Enterprises as the exclusive a two-year wait for new aircraft orders. First-time 43.5 million in 2005 to 59.2 million in 2006, a representative for the Hawker in India, Nepal, Sri buyers prefer to keep expenditures low, and since owners want to use their aircraft for charters, it 36.3% increase. Asia/Pacific recorded a growth of Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives and Myanmar. Operators face constraints at every step, says BAAI makes commercial sense to buy pre-owned aircraft, around 10-11% for both domestic and internapresident Karan Singh. Non-availability of GA ter- Kapur says. “A pre-owned aircraft charter goes at tional traffic. Even as India considers the conversion of some minals, poor facilities for ground handling, lack of almost the same price as a new one but costs only of its old airports and airstrips into business aviation hangar space and parking, and no heliports add to half the price. Thus, bottom lines look better,” he adds. hubs, efforts are on the way to decongest crowded the woes of operators. India has a potential for 2,000 fractional owners. “There is a requirement for a second airport at Mumbai Airport, with the government considering a proposal to move all general aviation related metros that looks at small jets,” Duvvuri says. “We Club One Air, India’s first aircraft fractional owneractivities to a smaller airport. This, however, re- are talking to different airports to put up service ship company, has chosen the Cessna family of facilities to support small aircraft in the next 12 to Citation Jets as the primary aircraft for its fractional mains in the concept stage. ownership program. Starting with a fleet of two, just “Small aircraft take time to clear the airfield and 18 months.” Indo Pacific Aviation COO Rohit Kapur explains two years ago, it now has six. therefore hold up the movement of larger aircraft. —Neelam Mathews 72 September 25, 2007 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews
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