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)
[9 V4 U" _( y' _% ]$ U+ s0 P 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.
w$ Y D. U3 N 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.6 t' t+ ~: S/ ]$ I8 H
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./ D" E, Z: l' j, n W
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.( i7 o5 c3 j& h: @
The country's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, reportedly gifted his wife a $60 million Airbus, complete with entertainment cabins and showers, for her birthday in 2007.5 |- Y4 G2 S) {9 b$ u
Jose Eduardo Costas, vice president of Asia sales for Embraer, said the Brazilian firm had a host of orders lined up.
& J" |& N" ?' H "A private jet is not a Ferrari or a luxury boat. It's a business tool and the market here realises that," he said.+ p+ \" M/ ]/ h% W
"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."
9 m& p8 `. q) x! G5 n6 v5 U' U& E 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).& q) s. S X: o# A' x1 G
"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.# F6 k( _8 o9 b
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.
' ~5 e D- c5 e5 G1 q 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.
u# r [: N" p# f% Q 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.
9 f) d/ `2 Z0 ^ "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.0 ]* e% U4 T+ ]# l
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 |