Cessna finance rolling out schemes for aircraft buyers

With the high net worth individual (HNIs) base growing rapidly in the country, banking institutions and finance corporations are now intensifying their lending operations in the field of aviation.

Knocking on the doors of the opulent class that aspires to own small jets are the big financiers who are rolling out attractive loan options in the general aviation category (in which aircraft are operated for purposes other than commercial passenger flight or military use).

Getting more aggressive on the Indian turf is the US-based Cessna Finance Corporation (CFC), a general aviation financing company that claims to have provided over $16 billion for 182,000 aircraft across the world. "In today's global general aviation market, India is the most happening place," CFC director (international finance-Asia Pacific) Sameer A Rehman told Business Standard while emphasising on the fact that the country has the highest number of billionaires and millionaires in Asia.

CFC, which is part of the $13.2 billion Textron company, has drawn up a route map to push smaller aircraft