Indian tycoons and upper-middle class families fleeing COVID crisis on private jets, claims JetSetGo CEO

Besides Indian tycoons and Bollywood celebrities fleeing India on private jets, the upper-middle class families are also pooling their resources to make an escape, claims JetSetGo CEO Kanika Tekriwal.

India recorded more than 4.14 lakh new positive COVID-19 case with over 3,900 fatalities on May 6. The country has so far recorded a total of 2,14,85,285 cases and 2,34,071 deaths as of data updated at 12.24am on May 7. Experts have highlighted that India’s test positivity rate is about 21.5%, which is approximately one in five persons tested are positive.

Tekriwal told CNBC’s Street Signs Asia that to say that only the wealthy Indians are leaving India on private jets would be wrong. “In the last 10 days, what we have really seen is anyone who can put together the resources and the means to pool in money for a private jet, or to pool in money just to get out of the country, getting out.”

She said JetSetGo has recorded a 900% surge in bookings in recent weeks. There are some 70% to 80% coming from the upper-middle class, instead of their regular ultra high net worth customers. The report says that majority of them are fleeing to Maldives, which currently offers quarantine at a scheduled resort for passengers arriving from India or Dubai, which allows entry from business purposes.

“They are just people who are putting together money to get out of the,” Tekriwal said. “I think its them who fear COVID-19 the most because they are not the ultra-rich or the most accessible to medical care.” She pointed out that the situation has become so out of control that, in some cases the price of a private jet flight “can be less than hospitalization fees”.

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“Hospitalization costs about $2,500 a night. Its what hospital rooms are going at. So even if you have got two family members in hospital for 14 days, you are looking at double the price of flying to Dubai,” the executive explained. “That’s what most of my customers have been telling me: “We are okay with spending six months of salary or our savings on escaping the country rather than being in half a hospital bed and not knowing how much we are going to be paying or if we are even going to be getting a hospital bed.”

However, Tekriwal was quick to add that passengers who test positive for COVID-19 are not accepted on its regular flights. The company offers a separate domestic and international air ambulance service.