BackPolls fail to lift chopper demand
Charter firms see weak demand as social-distancing rules force parties to hold virtual meetings
PremiumHelicopters and small planes, much sought-after by top politicians as they hop across constituencies, trying to cover as many places as they can, have few takers ahead of the Bihar state elections this month.
Charter firms, which have helicopter and plane leases tied up months in advance of elections, are bearing the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic as social distancing rules have forced political parties to hold virtual meetings and digital campaigns instead of roadshows and rallies. The elections are scheduled to be held between 28 October and 7 November in three phases.
“Generally speaking, there is a shortage of helicopters during general elections while this is not so much the case during state elections. But, bookings have been negligible for the coming Bihar elections, which is due to the covid-19 pandemic," said Sanjay Julka, chief executive officer (technical) at Club One Air, one of India’s oldest and largest air charter firms.
“Political parties haven’t made up their minds whether to hold virtual rallies or physical rallies due to the pandemic. I think bookings will pick up closer to the election as politicians hold more rallies," Julka said, adding he expects bookings to recover by 15-20 October.
Before the pandemic, each political party generally hired at least three to five helicopters or smaller fixed-wing aircraft for rallies before state elections, according to Club One Air.
Larger political parties tend to hire more aircraft as they shuffled central leaders to states to attend rallies. On an average, at least 20-25 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft were used by various political parties before state elections. However, this figure has declined by at least 80% ahead of the Bihar elections.
“We expect 15-20 helicopters to be booked near elections by various political parties, this time around," Julka added.
Private jet and helicopter operator Jetsetgo Aviation Services Pvt. Ltd hasn’t seen a single election booking this year, a company spokesperson said.
“Earlier, we have had all our 28 aircraft utilized during such election campaigns. This year, due to the pandemic, there seems to be no physical rally for the Bihar elections," Kanika Tekriwal, the company’s chief executive and founder, said in an emailed response.
Renting a helicopter during a general election can cost between ₹1 lakh and ₹4 lakh per hour, which is more than their normal charges. For instance, a single-engine helicopter costs ₹1.1-1.2 lakh per hour. Small, twin-engine helicopters cost ₹2.75 -3.25 lakh per hour, and the bigger helicopters at ₹3.25-3.75 lakh per hour.
For state elections, single-engine helicopters can be rented at about ₹1 lakh an hour, while small, twin-engine helicopters cost about ₹2.5-3 lakh per hour and the bigger helicopters at about ₹2.85-3.35 lakh per hour.
Fixed-wing aircraft during state election command a rent of about ₹1.25 lakh an hour for very small jet planes, ₹2.5 lakh per hour for small jet planes and ₹3.75-4 lakh an hour for bigger jet planes. All of these planes have to generally be rented for at least a fixed number of hours per month, which is typically around 45 hours a month.
Industry experts said that in a normal scenario, the Bihar elections would have seen a lot of air movement between Delhi and Patna, and other towns and cities in the state as parties sought to fly out senior leaders to rallies. This has been missing this year due to the pandemic, they said.
“When you don’t have rallies due to covid, the demand for helicopters will suffer. The latent demand for last-mile helicopter connectivity will be significantly lower than before," said Mark Martin, chief executive of aviation consultancy Martin Consulting LLC.
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