NEW DELHI: Booking a personal charter flight could soon be a click away as operators look to make such services more widely available and fill up spare capacity. Mumbai-based charter company Baron Aviation is set to launch an online portal that will aggregate demand for such operators, much like Makemytrip or Cleartrip for airlines or hotels.
“Going online will make the charter business very accessible to the consumers,” said Baron founder Rajeev Wadhwa. “There are many advantages both for consumers and the industry to take the online route.”
Not only will these online platforms aggregate demand but for operators this will take away the pain that hinders the charter business–complicated procedures and technical issues.
Another Delhi-based company JetSetGo Aviation will soon launch a portal that provides customers the ability to compare and book private charters online. “As we begin to enable better price discovery, aggregate demand and utilise empty legs better, we will soon provide a far superior alternative to flying business class or connecting locations that still cannot be served by commercial airlines,” said Kanika Tekriwal, co-founder of the company. Others such as Delhi-based Club One Air have similar plans.
While these companies are optimistic about the online channel, many say they may be too ambitious. Manav Singh, who ran Club One Air earlier and now manages Imperial Air, said it was premature to attempt an online model. “It may work in the future, but right now the scale is missing. Neither are there too many operators, nor too many users,” said Singh.
Also, the product itself is not standard in nature. “This business requires a lot of flexibility , which cannot be delivered with the click of a button,” he added.
Baron’s Wadhwa on the other hand is betting on demand from non-metro cities. “We will get a new set of consumers who we are missing out on right now.”
Tekriwal said the online initiatives will help conversion rates.”On average, of the 150-200 charter queries our company receives each month, only a small percentage is delivered. Online platforms will help the industry to consolidate,” she said.
Estimates suggest India has close to 200 registered charter operators, but a majority of them own just one or two jets and only a handful–less than 10–have the ability to operate on a bigger commercial scale.
