Giving Bombay its first aircraft fractional ownership program for the Aviation Enthusiast, Capt. Mihir D. Bhagvati, Promoter of My Plane & Managing Committee member of The Bombay Flying Club (Since 1928) & the Managing director of Lubz Corporation (India), has pioneered the concept in Bombay that has been in existence in the West for the last two decades.

Seeing the concept of fractional ownership of an aircraft work well in the United States & also picked up in India , we have contemplated starting a similar venture in India . We launched My Plane giving Bombayites the opportunity to have its own, exclusive Small Airplane for the Aviation Enthusiast willing to buy & Fly his own Airplane. No Pilot License required is required for the Ownership of the plane.

Fly yourself the easy to fly Cessna with your family & friends to your favorite weekend destination or Just take them for a scenic flight over the western ghats & the beautiful coastline on an evening. Or rather impress your Business associate with a scenic flight over the city in your own plane.

Is Bombay ready?

Fractional ownership of an aircraft is a mature concept and India has opened up economically in the last 5-6 years. There are plenty Businessmen & Entrepreneurs in India who can afford airplane today than ever before. The Owners will be interviewed, screened & then selected for paying up the required financial share for the purchase of the aircraft. 

Young entrepreneurs have aggressive growth & Adventures plans. Fractional ownership is a great idea for Aviation Enthusiasts those who want travel with flexibility, luxury & have the pride, prestige & status of owning / Flying their own small aircraft.

Besides the flying charges of approx. Rs. 15 per km, the fractional ownership costs between Rs 10 lakhs and Rs 20 lakhs (ranging between one-eighth and one-fourth of an aircraft cost). The concept, highly popular in the West, enables the owner to own an aircraft at a fraction of the cost. The Monthly Flying Expenditure ranging form Rs.15,000 to Rs. 30,000 for Maintaining /Parking  the Aircraft with the Pilot / Crew / Engg. Etc.

Necessary investment  

For 25% Share= Rs.20 lacs & Running Expenses Rs.30,000/- Per month  or
For 12.5% Share= Rs.10 Lacs & Running Expences Rs.15,000/- Per Month)

The project will be started with an investment of Rs 80 Lacs with one Cessna 172. The fleet of My Plane will soon have four Light aircraft by the end of Next year ranging in speed, Range & seating capacity.

Starting the venture is a little difficult, mainly because of Explaining the concept of fractional ownership of an aircraft to the clients & the Prospective Owners. 

How it works & What you Gain.

One usually does not fly for more than 200 hours a year, even if one has a personal aircraft, which has the capacity to fly for 800 hours. So ultimately one uses only 25 per cent of its capacity, and 75 per cent goes to waste, even though one has to keep up the costs on maintaining it.

Also, aviation is a very specialized field so one may not get the best people to manage the whole show, which can be dangerous.

You can Claim a whopping 40% Depreciation allowed by the government on your Investment in the aircraft.

The value of the aircraft does not drop in India due to the non availability of good aircrafts & you can sell the ownership share after years without much difference in the face value. So it will work out as a good investment.

In fractional ownership of an aircraft, one pays in proportion to the hours used. If you want to buy 1/8th share of an aircraft, then your cost of acquiring that share will be generally 1/8th of the cost of the entire aircraft, including the induction costs and overheads of standby aircraft.

Depending on the percentage of your share, you will be entitled to a certain number of flying hours each year. This is an opportunity for people to buy into a share of an aircraft and avoid wastage of funds.

You would of course own financial and legal interest in your aircraft to the extent of your share. The aircraft will be exclusively used by you and other owners. 

No Responsibilities

To run even a single aircraft of your own, you require a complete infrastructure of office, pilot, crew, manager, handlers, engineer, security etc. Add to this the usual hassles of running a business and managing people. In Aircraft Fractional Ownership, you simply pick up the phone and call your Pilot, and your aircraft will be waiting for your departure.  

Resale, Buy Back & Transfer

If you plan to leave, You can sell your share to other fractional Owners or others aviation enthusiasts will to buy the share.

If you plan to leave the program after a certain lock-in period i.e. 7 Years, a good Fractional Ownership Program should guarantee to buy-back or Transfer your share of ownership at a predetermined price.

After the term of 7 years, if a fractional owner is keen to continue his ownership, or buy a share in another aircraft, all he has to do is pay the difference between the new aircraft share value and his existing fractional share residual value.  

Monthly Payment Structure

Once you become an owner, you would pay your share of the monthly management fee to cover the fixed expenses, including but not limited to pilots, crew, maintenance, airport services, insurance, hangar charges, administration etc. which are equivalent to your fractional share. (Approx. Rs.15,000/- to Rs. 30, 000 per Month)

You then pay an hourly charge for whenever you utilize the aircraft. This covers fuel, airport charges and maintenance reserves (Approx. Rs 3,000 per Hour or Rs. 15 per Kilometer)

The wider perspective

This concept has worked phenomenally worldwide. There are today approximately 8,000 fractional owners of aircrafts across the world, from a meager 110 in 1991. Every two years the number of fractional owners is doubling. The demand is huge.

Expansion plans in the pipeline

By the end of Next year we plan to be in two cities, Mumbai and Pune. We have made a projection that in the next two years, at least 70 people in India would like to be fractional owners of an aircraft.

Currently, we have priced ourselves low. The idea is to get people familiarized with the concept.

It's a great business, Pleasure & adventure tool for anybody to have, You are the boss and decide the timing of your travel in luxury & have the pride, prestige & status of owning your own small aircraft.