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BIZJET ADVISOR
T
he Business Aviation market is growing even more rapidly than the airline sector, according to Sandeep
Bhatt, CEO of Religare Voyages, one of India’s leading private aircraft charter operators. “The sky’s the limit!” he said. “Right now demand is outstripping supply.” Religare Voyages is part of a large family of companies under the Religare Group. In the travel market, Religare Voyages aims to offer a one-stop shop service, encompassing a corporate and leisure travel agency, air charter with a fleet of company-owned business jets, turboprops and helicopters, as well as training for cabin crew and technical staff, consultancy, and soon, flight simulation training. The numbers are impressive. A recent report by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) predicts a major growth in the General Aviation sector in India over the next 10 years. The sale of new aircraft is likely to be worth up to $12 billion. Mumbai airport alone handled 13,290 non-scheduled flights in 2010-11, a major increase on the 8,245 movements handled in 2006. Every day, an average 38 General Aviation
Sandeep Bhatt CEO, Religare Voyages
airplanes take off and land there. Last year, Mumbai handled 30,000 passengers who flew on private or non-scheduled flights. Mumbai is a major hub for Religare Voyages, as it is
The leisure travel market is also growing, thanks to increased numbers of people with larger disposable incomes
the first Indian airport to have a dedicated Business Aviation
who also want to travel at their preferred time, and in privacy.
terminal. This terminal offers both domestic and international
This group comprises mainly industrialists, senior corporate
departures, enabling travelers to skip long immigration and
leaders, Bollywood stars and other celebrities.
security queues at the main international terminal building.
Charters are also becoming popular with foreign tourists
Religare Voyages also has strategic hubs in Delhi, Chennai
coming into India. They typically come into one of the metro
and Hyderabad, and licenses to operate worldwide.
cities and then use private jets for internal travel. Popular
Business or Pleasure? “Corporate travel is the biggest part of our business, bigger
tourist destinations such as the Taj Mahal and the beaches of Goa are typical ports of call. “Within India we do a lot of charters around the ‘golden
than leisure travel,” said Sandeep, “but there is a gradual
triangle’ region (Agra and Jaipur),” Sandeep revealed, “as
move towards more leisure related movement also.” Senior
well as a number of cities in Rajasthan, Kerala and Goa. We
managers, particularly those running larger businesses,
also take groups to areas of special interest such as Jammu
increasingly rely on private jets when traveling for meetings,
and Kashmir, Amritsar and Dharamsala, where people go to
site visits and presentations, or when they do multi-city road
take the blessings of the Dalai Lama.”
shows or corporate events. “A number of our smaller aircraft and helicopters are
Religare’s two 17-seater Beechcraft 1900D turboprops are popular for group travel, and Sandeep added that the
used for regular visits to factories and manufacturing sites
company is considering adding a larger jet with up to 18
which are usually located in remote areas where there are
seats in the future to handle similar business.
smaller airfields,” commented Sandeep. The cost is higher
Increasingly, affluent Indian travelers are chartering
than using scheduled flights, but the other advantages
private jets for trips abroad, to popular international
outweigh the price. “The time saved, plus the ability to work
destinations such as London, Paris, Mauritius, the Maldives,
on board means price is not an issue.”
New York, Dubai and Bangkok. “It’s typical for five or six