Covid-19 has spiked demand for charter planes in India: Rahul Mucchal, CEO, Accretion Aviation
In response to the risks associated with travelling during the ongoing pandemic, India’s wealthy have found a safe option in charter planes.
aUnlike other major industries associated with travel and tourism, the charter plane business has seen a favourable demand due to Covid-19.
With the full unlock on its way, personal safety while travelling has become of utmost importance. Even after following all necessary protocols during commercial air travel, there is fear that it might lead to contracting the virus, though there is little data available to support such claims.
BW Applause & Everything Experiential recently spoke to Rahul Mucchal, CEO, Accretion Aviation to know about the spike in the demand of charter planes and more.
EXCERPTS:
How has the pandemic impacted the Charter Plane business?
The pandemic has caused a rise in the charter plane business. People who have to make unavoidable travel are preferring to book their own plane and travel rather than flying commercial.
We have experienced elated demand from the segment. We also have started a per seat basis charter where people can travel to some cities on a per seat basis using a 6 seater plane. This helps reduce cost and does not compromise on safety of any passengers as we get a Covid 19 RT PCR test done before their travel to ensure safe travel for all.
What is the extent of loss that your sector has witnessed due to the initial lockdown?
During the lockdown and travel ban our business went down almost by 90% since apart from air ambulances no other products were functioning.
How is the demand from customers in metros vs tier-2 cities?
The demand is from metros travelling to tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Right now the demand to travel from smaller cities to metros is negligible.
What kind of safety protocols do you follow?
We provide complete sanitization of the aircraft everytime we are about to receive guests. Apart from that, we have only one person who takes the clients from the airport curb to the plane in less than 10 minutes. Everyone has to undergo regular temperature checks and have to follow safety protocols of wearing masks and face shields.
Tell us about the regulations governing the industry. Also, what are your demands from the government?
The regulations of the government are only considering the safety of the planes. Which is good enough and required. We would expect the government to ensure that people are able to make correct choices and use the various methods of travel available to them.
Where do you see the charter plane industry in the next two years?
The future is of charter planes. People are looking at reducing time and also enhancing safety. We are also seeing a lot of demand on the per person seats for charters.
For more information visit: www.accretionaviation.com
