General aviation in India, growth, opportunities and challenges
Introduction
Aviation normally connotes a dichotomous division into:
• Civil Aviation
• General aviation.
Civil aviation is further classified into:
• Military
• Government and private airlines (passenger planes).
General aviation deals with private aircraft owners, company-owned aircraft, flying clubs, small taxi operators, etc. Therefore, General Aviation includes all aircraft not flown by the government and private airlines called regular and / or military operators.
General aviation (GA) is also seen as a catalyst for economic growth. Businesses using general aviation are said to gain a competitive advantage, while communities gain job opportunities and access to the nation’s expanded air transportation system.
It benefits users of transport services and the country’s economy in general. It increases the efficiency and productivity of businesses by reducing the travel time that would be required to drive or use more congested commercial airports. Provides training to most new pilots.
Government companies / agencies can use airplanes / helicopters to:
• For corporate use
• Offshore purposes, especially helicopters
• Emergency medical services (EMS)
• Disaster management
The latest statistics from the civil aviation sector show:
• Up to 100 percent FDI is allowed under the automatic route for Greenfield projects.
• For existing projects, FDI of up to 100 percent is allowed; while up to 74 percent is invested in the automatic route and more than 74 percent in the government route.
India’s aviation industry is one of the fastest growing aviation industries in the world, with private airlines accounting for over 75 percent of the domestic aviation market sector (as of 2006). With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18 percent and 454 airports and runways in the country, of which 16 are designated as international airports, the time has come to monitor the growing growth of the aviation sector.
Today, the general aviation sector is most underserved in the civil aviation industry. He is treated as a stepson of aviation in India. There are no separate guidelines for general aviation. In India there is no concept of FBO (Fixed Base Operator), helicopters or GA (General Aviation) terminals. The maximum use of General Aviation is on corporate charter flights, followed by offshore operations via helicopters, tourism, etc. There is an estimated business of Rs 2.9 billion in the private charter industry itself and it should not be neglected. General aviation in India is a very specialized market, especially since it has no problems and has an instant availability status. The value of the added benefits of private aircraft is that you can fly to destinations not covered by regular airlines, you have access to more than 400 runways (only 90 are operational at the moment). The versatility of helicopters to go where nothing else can is not being exploited to its best potential.
The reasons that have led to the low growth of general aviation are mainly:
Lack of infrastructure- There is no availability of FBO (Fixed Base Operator) terminals. The number of ground handling agencies is extremely restricted, there is no availability of MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) and the cost of maintenance increases. There is no separate parking and helicopters operate outside the airports. There are no heliports or helicopter routes in India to date.
Restrictive regulations: Too many agencies are involved in the procedure to obtain a private plane, such as the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the General Directorate of Civil Aviation, the Civil Aviation Security Bureau and the Airport Authority of India . 25% of the tariff is restricted to corporate aircraft only, which increases costs. The owner has to limit himself to operating hours in major metropolitan areas, rendering private property useless.
Lack of manpower: there is a shortage of pilots and engineers. In India there are 35 flight schools, which are not producing the required number of pilots. There is a demand for around 50,000 employees and 15,000 engineers in the airline industry.
The general aviation sector still has a great margin of growth, due to the intervention of private actors and the availability of purchasing power between the classes. The Commercial Aviation Association of India estimates that general aviation in that country is likely to grow between 30% and 40%. With over 700,000 Indians representing a cumulative wealth of $ 3 billion, this is no surprise. Deregulation, the availability of funds, the easing of regulations for foreign investment in Indian companies and, paradoxically, the painful experience of traveling on a commercial airplane are driving this growth.
The road ahead
Investment opportunities of $ 110 billion are anticipated through 2020, $ 80 billion for new aircraft and $ 30 billion for airport infrastructure development, according to the Investment Commission of India.
• Indian aerospace companies are also growing. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was ranked 40th on Flight International’s list of the top 100 aerospace companies last year.
• Major aircraft manufacturing company Boeing is in the process of establishing the proposed $ 100 million Maintenance Repair Review (MRO) facility in Delhi. Air India is also in the process of launching a cargo hub in Nagpur, while Deccan Aviation has already started one from the city.
• GE Aviation and Air India will jointly invest US $ 90 million to establish a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in Mumbai.
• Indocopters Private Ltd, Eurocopter helicopter dealer in India, plans to install a helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in Bhubaneswar, the company’s fourth service center in the country.
conclusion
General aviation is growing rapidly in both developed and developing countries. India’s general aviation has not been able to keep up with the rest of the world due to general misconceptions, lack of awareness and communication between the government and the public and lack of infrastructure.
With 83,000 billionaires in India and growing at a rate of 20% per year, the potential is staggering. However, there is a strong belief in India that the airplane is a luxury item. Realistically speaking, an airplane is not a luxury item. In fact, it can help an organization run more efficiently with many financial, economic, and social benefits. You can give a multi-user name to the market.
The impediment to developing general aviation in India is the lack of a development map on how this industry will grow. The necessary infrastructure in all its manifestations is non-existent or regrettably inadequate.