The road infrastructure is lacking and aeroplanes can only land in airports so that more and more business people and top bankers are making a transportation choice few people used to make before: helicopter flights. Which helicopter can be either chartered or bought.
"The demand for helicopter flights has started to show two years ago and is going up. Most of the clients are business people who need to reach various cities across the country fast," says Cristian Becker, owner of Becker Aviation Company.
Becker Aviation is the sole dealer of the Robinson Helicopter aircraft in Romania, which it also rents out. The company holds piloting classes, as well, a regular nudge to buy an "airborne" vehicle.
"Those who enrol with the piloting school are relatively young, aged 25 to 35 years and most of them run big businesses in Romania or are part of the top management teams within multinationals or banks. After graduating the school, they consider buying a helicopter," Becker says.
"There are 6 Robinson helicopters in Romania at the moment, which were purchased by companies but also by individuals," he added. A new four-seat Robinson chopper starts at $500,000, and develops a speed of 230 km/h. It covers the distance between Bucharest and Mamaia, for instance, in one hour, one third of the time a car would take to.
"The best advantage of a chopper over a plane is that it can practically land anywhere, even in the yard of the client's factory, if that place is certified as a landing spot," explains Becker, whose helicopter business began three years ago.
Renting a two-seat chopper costs 250 euros an hour, while a four-seater costs 400 euros an hour, Becker says.
Becker's top competitor is the company held by businessman Ion Tiriac, Ion Tiriac Air, which owns two helicopters it rents out. Also renting out choppers are the Utility Aviation forces, the Defence Ministry, as well as the specialised divisions of Petrom and Romgaz. There are also businessmen who sell choppers on the market, such as Marius Opran through the Ovi Aviation.
The German businessman who held five soft drinks factories in several cities across the country, Bucharest, Sibiu, Constanta, Roman back in 1999, brought his personal helicopter from Germany to Romania so that he could travel faster between locations.
In order to get the flight permit from the Civil Aeronautic Authority in Romania (AACR), he established a helicopter repair and maintenance company that later turned into Becker Aviation as it is now. The company is based in Moara Vlasiei Commune, 15 km away from the Otopeni Airport.
Becker Aviation makes money from the piloting school and from the helicopter sale, rental, maintenance and repair. Furthermore, the company won a tender organised by national electricity carrier Transelectrica for monitoring the aerial power lines and performing repairs whenever necessary.
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