Huge potential for private charter jet business in India

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - The private charter jet market in India has a huge potential as more and more people fly in swanky jaircraft for business and holidays, says Adam Twidell, who heads the British company, Private Fly.

“This is a business which is waiting to happen here because there is no shortage of multi-millionaires in India. I have found out that there are many who own private jets and what lacks here is someone who will do the job what we do in the United Kingdom,” Twidell told IANS.

Twidell’s Private Fly coordinates with the nearly 2,000 private aircraft owners, who own more than 8,000 jets, and hires these out to those who want to charter flights for business and personal needs.

“In our kitty are private jets which have a seating capacity from four to 16 seats. We have our website and those interested to hire charters gets in touch with us either online or offline. This unique service allows the customer the choice of their perfect jet at the most competitive market price,” said Twidell.

Twidell, a former pilot with the Royal Air Force, was here to interact with his IT partner, Q-Burst, a Technopark-based company which provides the software backup for Private Fly.

To promote his company in India, Twidell has begun talking to people. One person with whom talks have progressed is Hindi film actor Dalip Tahil.

“We are looking for someone who would be the brand ambassador of our company in India. India is a huge country with so many airports and this is ideal for our type of operations because our job is to be intermediary between the private jet owners and the one who actually charters these jets,” he said.

But the biggest problem, he said, is the delay in getting the sanction from the civil aviation authorities.

“The record we have in the UK is we were able to put one customer into a private jet in 51 minutes, from the time he contacted us. India has certainly opened up, and for operations of private jets here to be smoother the need of the hour is civil aviation authorities would have to act fast when demands come for permission for landing and take off,” said Twidell.