In election season, politicians are criss-crossing the country on chartered aircraft and helicopters, doling out lakhs by the hour. These include top leaders of not just the Congress and BJP but also regional parties in power in various states.The
Mid-sized charter aircraft in the company's fleet comprise the eight to 10-seater Falcon-2000 aircraft that cost a little less than Rs 3 lakh per hour. Photo courtesy: centuryflight.com
While the Lok Sabha polls will decide who rules the country, the stakes are high and politicians are pulling out all stops to ensure that their message reaches the masses, even at a considerable financial cost. Photo courtesy: flightplanet.com
King Air turbo-props cost about Rs 70,000 per hour. Imperial Air Chairman Manav Singh points out that the company also "blocks" its aircraft for the benefit of customers who book aircraft for several days at a stretch that may be upto two months.
The Global 5000 that is a 12 to 14 seater is hired by the top leadership of various political parties and costs about Rs 3.5 lakh per hour. Photo courtesy: gerav.com
Smaller turboprop aircraft are also much in demand. For instance, charter company Ligare Voyages has a fleet of 12 aircraft and two helicopters. Photo courtesy: Businessair.com
While some of the chartered aircrafts cost about Rs 4.5 lakh per hour and are mostly hired by the top leaders, the helicopter still remains the favourite for politicians for the mobility factor. The helicopters are also cheaper at roughly about Rs 1
The most expensive aircraft for charter in the Ligare Voyages fleet is the 14-seater Falcon 7X with a cost of about Rs 4.5 lakh per hour. Photo courtesy: Churchillaviation
Even as national parties like Congress and BJP have been targeting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over fund collection, questions about their own expenditure are yet to be answered. Seen here: Falcon 7X. Photo courtesy: Arioner.net
Hiring a Citation XL costs about Rs 1 lakh per hour. Photo courtesy: airdayint