Helicopter charter price in India: what a quote is made of, and who flies the aircraft

Two questions arrive together more than any others: who is actually flying the helicopter, and what does booking one cost. They have the same answer at the root, because the second is decided almost entirely by the first.

Who operates the aircraft?

A licensed aviation company does. BookHelicopter arranges the flying and holds the relationships; the machine, the crew, the permits and the insurance belong to a permit-holding operator, and every sector is flown under that operator's certificate. Ask which company is flying yours. It is a reasonable question, the answer is a matter of record, and anyone who will not answer it is not the person to book with.

We do not publish other companies' fares. Our list of helicopter operators in India names the companies travellers come across, but a fare quoted for someone else's aircraft, on a route and date we have not checked, would be a guess presented as a price.

Why is there no price list for a charter?

Because a charter is priced per route and per date rather than per product. A scheduled yatra seat has a fare — it is a seat on a rotation that runs anyway. A charter buys the aircraft, its crew and their day, and what that costs depends on where the aircraft starts, where you want it, and how long it has to stay.

What is a charter quote built from?

• The hourly rate for the aircraft type. A twin-engine machine costs more per hour than a single, and carries more.
• Positioning legs. Helicopters are based somewhere. Flying an empty aircraft to you and home again is flying time, and it is in the quote whether or not it is itemised.
• A daily minimum. An aircraft committed to your day is not available for anyone else's, so most charters carry a minimum guaranteed number of hours per day.
• Night halt and crew. If the aircraft stays out overnight, the halt, the crew and their accommodation are chargeable.
• Ground charges. Landing, parking and terminal fees at airports; helipad charges where they apply; fuel and handling at remote fields.
• Permissions. A private or temporary landing site needs clearance and, usually, a site survey before anyone commits to a date.
• Taxes. GST applies, and season and availability move the whole number.

Charter, rental or hire: how the use changes the price

Renting or hiring a helicopter is the same thing as a charter: you take the whole aircraft and its crew, and the price follows the time the aircraft is committed to you. What the flight is for changes which parts of the quote weigh most.

• Weddings: short flights near the venue, so landing permission at a private site and positioning from the base often matter more than the flying itself.
• Joy rides: typically 10 to 30 minutes, taking off and landing at the same helipad, priced by the flight.
• Air ambulance: the medical team, equipment and ground ambulances are added to the flying, and positioning is often the largest single part.
• Election duty: multi-day deployment, so the daily minimum and night halts decide most of the total.
• Filming and aerial work: permissions arranged weeks ahead, and the hours spent on station rather than in transit.

Is a seat cheaper than a charter?

Substantially, and they are not really comparable. On a fixed departure you buy a seat and accept the itinerary. On a charter you buy the aircraft and set the itinerary. Groups of four or five routinely price a charter expecting a small premium over five seats and find it is a different order of magnitude — which is exactly why group size belongs in the first sentence of an enquiry, not the last.

What should you ask before you pay anything?

• Which company operates the aircraft, and what type it is.
• What the hourly rate includes, and how many positioning hours are in the quote.
• What happens to the money when weather, not you, cancels the flight.
• What is excluded — ground charges and permissions are the usual omissions.

Common questions

How is a helicopter charter price calculated in India? Per route and per date: the hourly rate for the aircraft type, the positioning legs to and from its base, any daily minimum, night halt and crew costs, landing and helipad charges, permissions and GST.

Is helicopter rental the same as a charter? Yes. Renting or hiring a helicopter means chartering the whole aircraft with its crew. You set the itinerary and pay for the aircraft's time, not for a seat.

Why is there no fixed price list for a helicopter charter? Because where the aircraft starts, where you need it and how long it stays change the flying time and the charges around it. A seat on a scheduled yatra has a fare; a charter is quoted for the route and the day.

Who flies a chartered helicopter? A permit-holding aviation company, under its own operator certificate. The operator flying your sector is named on your quote and confirmation.

How do I get a helicopter charter quote? Send the route, the date, the number of passengers and their approximate weights. The quote comes back broken into its parts rather than as a single number.

See what charters we arrange, or send the route, date and number of passengers and we will come back with a quote broken into the parts above rather than a single number.