EXCLUSIVE! Gulfstream moves steadily in India

Neelam Mathews

Jan 4, 2011

Business is moving progressively for Arrow Aircraft Sales and Charters, a business-aviation service provider, appointed as an authorized independent sales representative for aircraft transactions in India by Gulfstream Aerospace earlier this year.

Gulfstream’s fleet in India, while small, is growing rapidly. The company that had five aircraft in service in India in 2001, now has 23 today, confirms Rohit Kapur, MD and partner at Arrow. He says with wait periods long, 60% of Gulfstreams in India are pre-owned and 40% are new. 

Kapur led Punj Lloyd Aviation in 2007 until its merger with Air Works India. Until recently, he was the CEO of Indocopters, the sole distributer and maintenance center for Europcopter in India. 

Kapur says market opportunities for an upper segment jet in India are vast. Market potential is growing. India’s growing roster of billionaires reportedly 47, rank the country fourth in the world, according to Forbes’ 2010 billionaires list. Moreover, India, with more than 126,000 millionaires, has the world’s eighth-largest base of high-net-worth individuals, with recent year-over-year growth of 51 percent, according to Merrill Lynch-Capgemini, alongwith an active IPO market and positive investment climate.

“Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Latin America represent more than 40 percent of Gulfstream’s backlog,” Roger Sperry, regional senior Vice President, International Sales. “So we need to ensure we have the infrastructure in place to support this growing sales trend. In a region as vast as Asia-Pacific, it’s vital to have in-country sales support whenever a question might arise. With offices in New Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai, Arrow Aircraft Sales will be able to provide that face-to-face contact as well as a great deal of expertise gleaned from its founders’ many years of aviation experience.”   

Arrow Aircraft Sales and Charters Private Limited was established in 2009. The company provides a multitude of services to clients, including aircraft acquisitions, sales, charters and management.

“We’re excited to be working with Gulfstream’s Asia-Pacific sales team, especially at this point in the company’s history, with the G250 and the G650 poised to enter the market in 2011 and 2012, respectively.” said Kapur.

Sperry is candid on constraints in India. “These are the challenges of a fast-growing economy, and we expect they will be addressed, because business aviation is an important component of the transportation system”. 

 “The key for us is to expose business leaders to the remarkable ability to move rapidly across continents to manage international operations or acquire new business entities,” Sperry said. ”Speed and flexibility are essential in today’s competitive global market. And Gulfstream offers both of those,” he added.

Gulfstream aircraft are supported by Air Works India, with parts provided from major supply bases in Madrid, Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore.