Why wait for commercial flights when you can fly like a king, bookmyjet has been creating its space in the industry by hitting the right checkpoints. Travel Turtle spoke to Santosh Sharma, Founder, bookmyjet to know the crux of the industry and the direction in which it is heading.
Aviation is where companies are raising their stakes and venturing into a new set of trends. Luxury and business private jet charter services are being adopted by a lot of people and bookmyjet is creating a niche in the market and setting the bar higher than average. Their fleets will allow you to sway the skies and give an unforgettable experience.
A Surge in the Business Aviation Industry
Business Aviation Industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world post-pandemic. There has been a remarkable surge in the demand for charter flights, not just in domestic circuits but also internationally. There are a couple of reasons that have contributed to this surge. One of them is the safety and security aspect, which is much higher when flying in a private jet than in a commercial. The other is, a lot of people have started to believe it is more important to allocate money to the things that would keep them happy and going rather than saving. This is something all of us have learned post-pandemic. To add to these Santosh shares, “A piece of good news for this industry is that few of the clients who started flying private jets during past few years have bought their private planes and some of them are deliberating on acquiring one.” This is a big win-win for the industry.
Rebooting post-COVID!
The industry was fairly doing well compared to other industries during the pandemic recovery phase, one of the biggest reasons being safety. Once, the effect started going down, a large chunk of corporate as well as leisure clients went back to flying commercial planes. This was expected from the industry, so it didn’t come as a shock for bookmyjet. They were prepared for such a turn of events and had their contingency plan in place. The team met with all their current clients as well as new clients and tried to understand their thought processes, mindset or apprehensions if they had any.
This personalised initiative paid off very well in terms of increasing their business, especially from the new clients. Santosh gave us an insight into the measures taken by the company to boost their business as well as deliver the clients that extra edge. “We took additional steps to ensure the flyers do not hesitate in hiring private jets during the last few years because somehow that element of fear was still there. We have been offering some very interesting deals like Empty Legs available at almost 80 per cent discount, and Jet Sharing at a very competitive rate for a group of friends or families. This has motivated a new set of customers to try flying in private jets.” he tells.
Fleets over feet
The company has something for everyone and keeping the clients happy and satisfied is its priority. The clients who started flying private, have specifically opted for twin-engine jets as they find turboprops slightly risky. Whereas, the clients who have already been flying for a long time are very well versed in business aircraft having flown in both jets as well as turboprops. “Customers feel comfortable flying in any of the fleets depending on the sector. If we talk about short sectors, they don’t mind flying in turboprops like King Air C90, Super King Air B200 or Super King Air B250 compared to long flights where they invariably ask for jets like Cessna Citation Cj2+, Cessna Citation XL, Beechcraft Hawker 850XP or Dassault Falcon 2000LX / EX.” shares Santosh.
Adding to the economy
Bookmyjet has been keeping its customers and clients at the forefront for a long time now, which is resulting in a hike in business. When the industry generates profit, the economy automatically gets affected. One of the biggest advantages of flying in a private jet is flexibility in terms of changing your flying program at the last moment.
In this highly challenging business scenario globally, business leaders need to have an extremely dynamic flying pattern, hence steps in the means of flying in a private jet giving them a huge advantage. Santosh shares, “India has seen a huge jump in the numbers of private planes being purchased by Indian corporate houses in the last few years, which has not only generated a lot of employment in the industry but also helped the corporate houses in their expansion plans. This adds a substantial amount of capital to the market.”
Corporate or Luxury – what will you pick?
The Aviation industry was affected greatly in the past few years, during the lockdown, a lot of corporate business houses suffered because the CXOs, and business owners couldn’t travel to conduct meetings with their partners, and clients, or even visit their factories. This was a major setback for the industry in terms of carrying out any kind of business. As soon as the airports started opening up and things started to get back to their normal pace, the business owners couldn’t hold themselves back and immediately started flying aggressively to cover up for the lost time.
At the same time, many HNIs opted for private jets for their much-needed vacations in India and nearby destinations like Maldives, Dubai, Thailand etc. Santosh comments on the segment that is demand between luxury and corporate and says, “I would say corporate flying has increased substantially vis-a-vis luxury flying. The business owners are opting for ins and outs to countries with facilities packed in a corporate flying experience.”
Flying through countries and cities
People are preferring luxury over commercial flying, so it becomes an experience to fly in a private jet that allows you the comfort of a lounge and first and foremost safety. Bookmyjet makes sure to give its customers both, Santosh shares the frequently demanded destination by the clients, “As far as luxury travellers are concerned, in India destinations like Rajasthan, Agra, Darjeeling, Hampi, Varanasi, etc. picked up pretty well. Abroad, we had lots of queries for destinations like Maldives, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Bangkok, etc. Corporate flying in India has increased substantially to places like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Bengaluru, and Kolkata. Even Tier II cities like Bhopal, Indore, Ahmedabad, and Hubli are witnessing a remarkable change in the demand for charter flights.”
