Welcome to the world of the new jetsetters. Owning a plane or helicopter has got to be one of life’s greatest indulgences. It separates the merely wealthy from the seriously rich. And now, India has a whole new bunch of jet-setters who’ve entered this uber-exclusive world, joining media bigwigs like the Bhartias (Shobhana Bhartia recently flew to a wedding in Chennai), and business tycoons like the Ambanis .

Currently, there are over 70 private jets in India. Bombardier Learjet, the world’s first company to get into the private jet market, set up operations in Mumbai earlier this year. The company which sold about 270 planes worldwide in 2005 has already sold four jets in Delhi and Mumbai since February this year. Three of these planes are the Global Express, one of the plushest private jets available, and apparently Bill Gates’ favourite. Cost: $47 million (Rs 218.6 crore).

But increasingly, it’s not just the Ambanis or Birlas who own planes. Several smaller industrialists are soaring to the skies in their own jets. Take Karan Singh, 31, who is passionate about aviation. A pilot with over 5,000 hours of flying experience, Singh has teamed up with two Delhi based industrialists to buy a Citation 3 (Rs 80 crore) and a Gulfstream aircraft (Rs 70 crore). They’ve bought the planes for easy mobility since their businesses are abroad and are working out how to share the aircraft between them. “The costs of maintaining a plane are huge,” says Singh.

“I make sure we can charter the planes when none of us are using them.”   He feels there is a small but steadily growing population that will purchase planes in India. “Ten years ago we wouldn’t have had this conversation,” he points out. Singh recently procured a helicopter for a Mumbai-based businessman who travels daily to his business site by chopper.

There are cheaper alternatives too. Jayant Avasthi, 36, is in the interiors business in Allahabad and has recently bought a two-seater Microlight plane that costs under Rs 50 lakh. It’s non-pressurised and noisy, certainly not a corporate jet, but it flies. The son of an Indian Air Force fighter pilot, Avasthi learnt to fly in Mysore Aerosports Academy. “I can take off every weekend to Goa or Manali if I like,” asserts Avasthi. He’s now sought permission from the government to use two abandoned World War II airports, thirty minutes from Allahabad, and plans to set up a flying club there. Avasthi has also applied for a permit to fly his Microlight abroad for family vacations.

For those who want the luxury of flying private but can’t afford a whole plane, there’s the fractional ownership model promoted by Delhi-based Club One Air. MD Manav Singh has 25 committed members who’ve bought flying hours from him. “To own and maintain your own jet, you need a surplus of Rs 10 crore a year,” explains Manav. “I offer the luxury of a private plane without the astronomical cost.” Then, there are the fixed costs of maintenance, insurance and fuel. Just to park a midsized corporate plane at the Delhi airport can cost Rs 20 lakh a month. Manav is cautiously optimistic about the future of private planes but feels only people who have businesses that require planes will buy them. “So far, there’s no clear aviation policy for private players in India,” he says. And that’s going to be a huge stumbling block in the future.

To buy an aircraft, first you need to apply to the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and explain why you need a plane. Next comes, clearance from the Home Ministry and finally, the approval of the IB and CBI. The process can take a year. Karan Singh has started a company, Indo Pacific Pvt Ltd, to cater to private players who want to avoid the hassle of cumbersome paperwork. “It’s a nightmarish process at every step,” he says. After a recent ruling, private planes are not allowed to fly during peak hours from 7 to 10 am and 6 to 8 pm because of air traffic congestion.