This kind of flying comes with its own share of perks. With full leather seats and a set-up that can match a home or office, corporate jets have long been seen as the ultimate in luxury travel.
The right to dictate your own travel itinerary makes this an attractive flying option for a pilot.
Private or executive jet-setting is seen not just as a luxury, but also as an important business tool.
The number of CEOs using business jets is an indication of the huge flexibility that a personal plane can give top management -- connections offered by commercial airlines are often not convenient.
With bizjets, one can fly directly from smaller cities in India to any place in Europe; thereby, you save a day by not having to travel through Mumbai or Delhi. Much of the flying in such high-end aircrafts is done on international routes.
Corporate jets, mostly used by large business houses like the Tatas, Birlas and Reliance, ferry their top brass to remote sites -- for example, where their factories are located. Nowadays, however, small and medium-sized companies are joining the bandwagon too.
Many companies that previously chartered planes from others are now acquiring their own fleet. Examples of such new business jet owners include the GMR Group, Punj Lloyd, Hindustan Construction and Jaiprakash Associates.
Raymond Aviation, the Singhania group company, has been in the aircraft chartering business over the past decade and owns a fleet of three helicopters and two business jets, an HS-125 and the latest acquisition -- a Challenger CL 604. The fleet is utilised by the company's top management as well as chartered out. The Challenger, for example, is being hired for Rs 3.15 lakh per hour**.
The Tatas have two Falcon 2000s available for chartered flights.
Some corporates like Kingfisher and Reliance are acquiring large business aircrafts that are actually commercial planes configured for business use, such as the Boeing Business Jet and the Airbus Corporate Jet. Kingfisher Airlines and RIL have ordered the ACJs. The government of India has taken delivery of two BBJs to be used by the prime minister and top guns in the defence ministry.
These lavishly configured planes can fly anywhere in the world with just one stop for refuelling. They also have the latest electronic gadgets for continuous communication with the ground, and are in a different class altogether from conventional business jets.
The Oberoi Group also offers its own air charter service. The Oberoi Group is authorised by the Directorate General Civil Aviation, India, to operate 'non-scheduled air transport services'. They offer a range of Delhi-based domestic routes to both corporate and private clients.
** (Source: Economic Times)
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