Home ›› 06 Feb 2022 ›› Front
The high-end travel behaviour has driven up private helicopter services as an effective medium of travelling from easy to hard-to-reach destinations expeditiously.
Businessmen, corporate executives, politicians, movie stars, foreign buyers and the elites are all drawn towards this exclusive air service.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), right now a total of eleven private companies with around 25 helicopters in their possession are providing personal and commercial services.
The eleven are Meghna Aviation Limited, R&R Aviation (Sikder Group), Bashundhara Airways Limited, Square Air Limited, Impress Aviation Limited, BRB Air Limited, Bangla International Airlines Limited, Partex Aviation Limited, South Asian Airlines Limited, Akij Group and PHP Group.
According to the report of Globe Newswire, “The global civil helicopter market was valued at $ 8.08 billion in 2020 and is projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9 per cent during the forecast period of 2021-2031.”
The report says the global civil helicopter market is being driven by the increasing demand for medium helicopters and a shift toward civil helicopters, by a rising demand for technologically advanced combat helicopters, an increase in fleet upgrades, and partnerships between helicopter manufacturers and aviation institutions.
Talking to The Business Post, Iftekharul Sadek, assistant manager (operation and ground handling), Meghna Aviation Limited, said: “The demand for helicopters is rising in our country as people’s income is going up and their lifestyle is also changing now which makes a positive impact over this sector.”
“We have four active helicopters right now. In 2020, between the months of March and August we only made 5 to 6 flights in a month. However, in 2021, we did 60 to 70 flights each month as Covid-19 infection was less than that in previous year.”
Sushanta Chakraborty, manager (sales and marketing) R&R Aviation, said: “Currently, we have seven helicopters and two aircraft. Helicopter models including Bell 230, Robinson 44 and Eurocopter EC130 and Hawker 800A, Piaggio Avanti ii models are available to us.”
“In 2021, we did 70 to 80 flights every month which was more than 50 per cent less than that of 2020,” he added.
Susanta said before the pandemic they did very well in their business which was badly hit by the Covid-19, however, the business sector is gradually improving.
“Apart from the in-house service, we also provide medical services to our customers all over the country though we do not allow any Covid-19 patient in our copter.”
The helicopter service providers claimed that before the pandemic a large number of passengers were foreign buyers of readymade garments, and their number has declined significantly in recent years.
Asked about the rent, the sector people said it depends on the hour of flight, the number of seats and other issues as well.
They exampled that a four-seated copter flight from Dhaka to Chattogram costs Tk 1,75,000.
Kaium Sarker, senior executive, Square Air Limited said, “Currently, we have three helicopters in operation. In 2020, we stopped both in-house and commercial services due to the pandemic. However, in 2021, we made 20 to 25 flights each month.”
“We also provide medical services for patients, but we do not allow any Covid-19 patient in our copters,” he added.
ASM Mustafizul Haque, captain of Bashundhara Airways, said: “We are operating four helicopters for both in-house and commercial purposes. However, we are offering less commercial services in the wake of the pandemic.”
“A significant number of travellers like to use helicopters when they visit different resorts of the country. The demand for using helicopters is increasing and so is the cost.”
Mustafizul maintained that they were recovering their business loss, but the Omicron variant which is another version of the coronavirus is making a barrier to the aviation business.
A Commercially Important Person (CIP) Jakir Hossain said: “Most of the time I prefer using helicopters as it saves my time and also gives flexibility.”
“I often travel by helicopter from Dhaka to my home district of Bhola with foreign guests as it is very comfortable.”
According to the report of Fortune Business Insights published in August 2021, the global helicopter market size was $ 50.42 billion in 2020, however, the global impact of Covid-19 has been unprecedented and staggering, putting a negative impact on the business across all regions.
The market is projected to grow from $ 52.56 billion in 2021 to $ 69.20 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 4.1 per cent during the period of 2021 to 2028, said the report.
