Private aviation is poised to soar high: Baier

Civil aviation scene in general may be looking downcast but private aviation in Asia, India in particular, is poised to soar high, says aviation expert and BJETS chief executive officer Mark Baier.

"Private aviation is under-developed in India. We see great potential for business development in this segment in the next two years. The current crisis hitting the aviation sector will only be temporary," Baier said.

BJETS is Asia's first dedicated fractional ownership and block charter jet operator based in Mumbai and Singapore, with an operations centre in Hyderabad.

While Briley Group is the majority stakeholder, Tata Group's Indian Hotels Company Ltd also holds a significant stake in BJETS, founded by Singapore-based Person of Indian Origin (PIO) Bala Ramamoorthy.

Talking to PTI at the India Aviation-2008, Mark Baier said his company currently has four private aircraft on hand while an equal number would be added by the end of this year.

"A total 50 planes we have ordered for Cessna Citation CJ2s  Hawker 850XPs, Hawker 900 XPs and Hawker 4000s will be delivered to us over the next five years and we will be Asia's largest private jet operator by the end of this year," he added.

The Cessna Citation and Hawker 850XP have been put on static display at the India Aviation event in Hyderabad.

India now has only about 180 private jets in operation, a tiny fraction compared to 11,000 in the US and 3,000 in Europe.

The number of private jets in India, however, could at least double in the couple of years with many players coming in.