BANGALORE, India (AFP) – The growing list of billionaires in India is an enticing prospect for executive jet makers seeking to recover from a slump in demand caused by the global financial crisis. (AFP/File/Dibyangshu Sarkar)
^+ K7 l; p2 p; O8 [8 \ BANGALORE, India – The growing list of billionaires in India is an enticing prospect for executive jet makers seeking to recover from a slump in demand caused by the global financial crisis.6 n- c9 }1 ]2 V- E% ^
Prominent among exhibitors at the ongoing Aero India 2011 air show in Bangalore were manufacturers such as US-based Gulfstream and Brazil's Embraer -- both hoping to seduce corporate high-flyers with their luxury private planes.
" A, {+ R g7 g The global private jet market had a hard landing in 2008-09, with jet prices plunging by up to 30 percent and actual flying time falling by an estimated 40 percent.6 A0 P3 U- r2 o" P% Z
But India's fast-growing economy minted 17 new billionaires in 2010, driving the total to a record 69, according to Forbes magazine's list of the world's wealthiest individuals.
8 Z$ c( |7 {. ~( D, c; [: A1 G The country's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, reportedly gifted his wife a $60 million Airbus, complete with entertainment cabins and showers, for her birthday in 2007.3 m, o$ ^( E0 I6 L: R. Z$ Z# |
Jose Eduardo Costas, vice president of Asia sales for Embraer, said the Brazilian firm had a host of orders lined up.* `$ n! j$ ~ ~4 i5 G0 d
"A private jet is not a Ferrari or a luxury boat. It's a business tool and the market here realises that," he said.
) E) s- N; O% o# z "Five of our aircraft are already with the government and four with private companies, and in the next three years we will be making 30 deliveries of our jets."
* a- e( t; o$ h. Z5 m4 ] Gulfstream said there were 17 of its aircraft in India by the end of last year, up from just five in 2001, adding that 12 of them were large-cabin models including the G550, which has a range of 12,000 kilometres (7,500 miles).1 A/ W6 A/ o3 K% d, Q& T: `7 M# ]
"We see great long-term potential in the Indian market as infrastructure for business aviation expands and government officials focus more on this segment," said Roger Sperry, Gulfstream's senior vice-president for international sales.
1 @+ {3 k. t3 B% U According to figures from aviation data firm JetNet, new business jet deliveries to the wider Asia-Pacific region grew from 7.0 percent of the world market in 2007 to 12 percent in 2009.3 ~' F0 u& ~4 }. _
JetNet cited India as having the second-largest fleet in the region, with 143 business aircraft of all sorts -- a sign of the country's growing presence in the top-end luxury goods market.
6 T H9 _3 e' `: } Cessna Aircraft Co. set up shop four years ago in Bangalore and industry experts say the Kansas-based manufacturer leads its private jet competitors in India.
- s9 U: B! r) Q/ t7 p2 d "India is important to Cessna and the expanding economy should soon support a robust business aircraft fleet and infrastructure," said Cessna's vice president for international sales, Trevor Esling.
7 u1 _- I, o$ G: Y8 O H% a He declined to give details of orders the company has on hand or the number of planes delivered, but said: "By 2025 I would expect India to be in the top 10 individual countries for business jet ownership outside the United States |
发表于 2012-8-16 08:12:37
