Last year, a New Delhi-based entrepreneur purchased two twin-engine DO 228 aircraft to start an air charter business. But due to the delay in getting the Air Operator Permit from the Director General of Civil Aviation his venture took off after about eight months.
In the last two years at least 16 business jets and 30 helicopters have been sold away or have exited from the Indian national register as non-scheduled air operators have to steer through a maze of regulatory rings to keep their fleet flying. Even large operators, including corporates such as L&T, Jindal, Reliance Infrastructure and Essar, have pared their aircraft fleet — which included Beechcraft, Hawker and Caravan aircraft and helicopters — due to these hassles.
Quoting these examples, the Business Aviation Operators Association says that these regulatory complexities could be simplified if India has a regulatory framework for Aircraft Management Companies, as in other countries.
“Today about 70-80 per cent of the 120 non-scheduled aircraft operators in India own just about one or two aircraft. It makes sense for such operators to lease out their planes to such companies, who actually play the role of consolidators, on a revenue sharing model. This way the cost of operating non-scheduled air transport business can be significantly brought down, as also the service cost for customers,” RK Bali, secretary of the association, told
In the light of this, the aviation industry is now making a fresh bid to convince the Modi Government to have such a regulatory framework in place.
Last month, the DGCA appointed an eight-member committee headed by Arvind Sardana, Joint Director General, DGCA, to come out with a suitable methodology for setting up aircraft management companies, as per international practices, among other things.
The committee, which will be submitting its report later this month, will also consider whether CAP 3100 (Air Operator Certification Manual) norms should be applicable to non-scheduled and helicopter operators along with scheduled operators. Jayant Nadkarni, Director of Invision Air, which operates two twin-engine business aircraft, says small operators could bring down their operation costs significantly through such management companies, besides strengthening safety and efficiency parameters.
Better functioningOne industry estimate indicates that operational costs could come down by nearly 50 per cent if larger aircraft management companies come into play.
“Just to have a pilot on rolls would cost an operator ₹4-5 lakh a month for jet aircraft and ₹2-3 lakh for turbo aircraft, including Caravans,” Bali points out.
Even the DGCA has, in the past, admitted that it was facing problems handling the 120-odd non-scheduled operators.
If integrated service providers come up, the number of such permit holders can be brought down to 35 to 40, the association feels.