General Elections 2024: Politics For Parties, Big Business For Helicopter Companies

Typically, India’s businesses take a breather when the nation goes to the hustings every five years. This is the time that policy-making takes a backseat as politicians go about doing all they can to be back in the chair for another term. There are a few exceptions to this rule, though… those few segments of business that visit another kingdom during elections. Among them the helicopter and chartered aircraft business is King.

It is the two to three months of election time that see charter companies come into their own, deigning to touch the ground only long enough to get refueled to fly again. During this peak season, the numbers do their own talking. Phase VI of the elections saw demand for chartered helicopters and aircraft surge 50 per cent, plying leaders of all parties and colours for a few final visits to voters.

“The demand for chartered planes and helicopters was 40-50-per cent higher in this year’s parliamentary elections, compared to previous polls,” said Captain RK Bali, Managing Director of the Business Aircraft Operators’ Association. Helicopters, aviation experts explained is the preferred mode of travel as choppers can land virtually anywhere. 

Chartered Helicopters And Planes In High Demand

Helicopters and chartered planes are the fastest modes of transport for a politician to campaign in a vast nation like India, covering a large number of constituencies in a short span of time. This time around, parliamentary elections are being held in 543 constituencies in India, with thousands of candidates in the fray. 

Sheer distances and the large number of constituencies make it tough for political parties, particularly the BJP and the Congress (which are contesting the maximum seats across India), to address rallies and roadshows to get their message across. Luckily for charter companies, this distance and overbearing time constraints have seen politicians make a beeline for helicopters and small aircraft.

“Elections have become fast-paced and prominent leaders have to cover three to five seats every day. The Congress and the BJP are contesting over 300 and 400 seats, respectively. If they don’t hire helicopters or chartered aircraft, they can’t cover even half of the constituency in the time frame they have,” a Dehradun-based helicopter operator said.

Clearly, it is time and distance that compel parties to hire ‘flying machines’. Also, road connectivity in parts of the country, particularly in the North-East and Rajasthan, is a challenge. For larger states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal, therefore, helicopters are in high demand. Thus, a common problem forces even warring parties and candidates to find a common hunting ground – their need to find and hire helicopters.

Demand is very, very high. You can understand just how high by this statement of one charter operator: “Can you imagine that demand led us to a situation where we had to say no to many political parties and leaders? We just had to give up business as we had no spare machines.”

Rates Have Skyrocketed In These Polls

Against this backdrop, the total hiring rate and hourly charges have both gone up significantly in the ongoing polls. Normally, the hourly rate for single-engine helicopters is around Rs 80,000-90,000 per hour, with customers coughing up a cool Rs 1.5-1.7 lakh per hour for twin-engine helicopters.

During this year's elections, though, the price has gone up to Rs 1.5 lakh per hour for single-engine helicopters and Rs 3.5 lakh for twin-engine machines. For chartered aircraft, prices vary between Rs 4.5 lakh and Rs 5.25 lakh per hour.

Polling in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections started on April 19 and the campaign is now nearing its end, with the last phase of polling on June 1. The going has been good for charter firms, with insiders claiming that helicopter and chartered flight operators have earned around Rs 600-800 crore during the ongoing elections, their highest ever.

Record Rental Rates For Helicopters

This time around, it was not just at the national level that political parties and their candidates opted to fly; even state-level political entities other than the BJP and Congress hired helicopters and aircraft in large numbers.

An interesting outcome of General Elections 2024 is the realization that there is a gnawing gap between demand and supply for flying machines in India. Government data reveals that at the end of December 2023, the number of helicopters approved by the DGCA stood at 262. The Government and public sector units own 26 of these machines, while the remaining are in the hands of private operators. As many as 181 helicopters belong to NSOPs (Non-Scheduled Operator Permits), which are entities that do not have a fixed schedule and fly as per the demand and requirement of their clients. NSOPs have helicopters and aircraft with seating capacities ranging from 3 to 37.

Available aircraft include the Falcon 2000, Bombardier Global 5000, Twin Otter DHC-6-300, Hawker Beechcraft, Gulfstream G-200 and Cessna Citation 560XL, according to data shared by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). In the NSOP category, the distribution ratio of single-engine and twin-engine helicopters is 35:65. The largest fleet operator is Pawan Hans, which has over 40 helicopters, while the other end of the spectrum is occupied by operators having only one machine.

Audited accounts for 2019-20 submitted to the Election Commission of India (ECI) show that the BJP incurred expenses of over Rs 250 crore for renting helicopters and aircraft in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. On the other hand, the Congress spent Rs 126 crore on chartered rentals in the same time period. The Congress did not share aircraft and helicopter expenses separately.

Political parties and their candidates will see their destiny decided on June 4, when the results of these elections are declared. As for the helicopters and chartered aircraft that flew our country’s politicians back and forth in the General Elections of 2024, their fate has already been sealed – in the bank accounts of their operators.