New company
to open first office in Bangalore
New Delhi, June
18:
Owners of private
business jets in India can soon look forward to a one-stop shop for meeting all
their travel needs. This follows Air Works making a Rs 120 crore strategic
investment in Dubai-based private aviation company Empire Aviation Group. The
new company will offer end-to-end aircraft asset management services for
private business jet owners.
The strategic
investment is through a mix of internal accruals and structured debt finance of
Rs 120 crore from KKR & Co, officials said.
“If there is a
owner of a private business jet who does not want to have the headache of
maintaining a staff for managing the aircraft we can help them not only
operating their flights but also getting clearance for the operations,”
officials said. The new company expects to open the first office in the next
30-45 days in Bangalore followed by Delhi and Mumbai. Initially staff will be
brought from the UAE base, officials said.
Declining to
give details of the companies that have already signed up with Empire Aviation,
officials said, “In the United Arab Emirates we operate for some former prime
ministers and wealthiest of the wealthy.”
On how much a
business jet owner would have to pay for the services, officials said: “The
management model will depend on the type of aircraft. You might have some one
who flies 20 per cent of the time and offers the aircraft for charter services
80 per cent of the time. The amount such a customer will pay will be different
from what another customer pays,” officials said.
Air Works may
look to raise between $ 35-50 million capital but there is no talk to divest at
the moment, officials said. While GTI has a stake holding of about 25 per cent,
Punj Lloyd holds about 19 per cent stake in Air Works. The funds will be raised
primarily to create an engine Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facility,
officials said.
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