Tourism Breaking News
In conversation with TravTalk, Kanika Tekriwal, CEO & Founder, JetSetGo Aviation Services recounts how the private aviation sector is affected due to COVID-19 and how the industry will reshape after the pandemic.
“As the aviation industry has been hit extremely hard by the COVID 19 crisis, and when flying through such turbulence, it’s critical to focus on the horizon. One of the important points is consolidation. It is usually perceived that; private aviation sector is not consolidated, and few players are still working on solo mode which will make the survival difficult,” comments Tekriwal while briefing about the survival, revival and resurgence strategy in the private aviation sector which includes the operation of charter flights.
Explaining further about the need of the hour in the sector, she says,” Another important step is to have a data-driven, action-oriented plan to help us emerge stronger from the COVID 19 crisis. All this needs to take into accounts the demands of flying private, safety and security of all our customers which is our utmost priority and the market structure scenarios.”
According to Tekriwal, there was nine-fold raise the number of international inquiries they were receiving for charter flights but the lockdown and travel ban came as a major setback. Whether it is health risk concerns or just getting where you need to be, people and companies that have the means to fly privately, but had previously eschewed it, are now looking at the options. The industry as a whole is working on a requirement basis to help people reach their destinations. No two days will be same again in private aviation and we need to stay braced for some turbulence,” she said.
Explaining that it is not the correct time to predict on how long it will take for the businesses to bounce back, Tekriwal said that they are looking at a snap of six months to a year post-COVID to revive from the losses incurred due to the lockdown. “Most of our customers are HNI’s and business travellers, who will resume booking services once the lockdown is lifted, pertaining to their travel requirements. Also, there will be a surge in the first-time travellers as people with money will be moving to charter aviation due to its safety, hygiene and convenience factor. Unlike in commercial aviation, there are few touchpoints in private aviation wherein the flyer is in contact with others and it makes safer for them to travel via this route,” she said.
