Aircraft charter companies are planning to use the aggregator model to make chartered flights up to 50% cheaper for customers, The Times of India reported on Thursday. As an aggregator, a company would offer flyers all available aircraft on one platform and optimise the use of the planes, like cab aggregators Ola and Uber.

Jet-Set Go Co-founder Kanika Tekriwal told The Times of India that overall flying time and cost will be reduced if aircraft charter companies aggregate flights. “The cost differential can, hence, even be as high as 50%,” he said.

At present, hiring a chartered aircraft with six to nine seats costs Rs 1,50,000 to Rs 2,00,000 an hour.

Alok Sharma, the promoter of Air One Aviation which is in the charter aircraft business, said the company has offered up to 500 planes through its subsidiary Ezee Charter. “At a later stage, we want to launch holiday packages, which will have on offer flights according to passenger convenience, and hotels to a group of people flying to a particular destination,” he said. “Going ahead, I see a lot of charter flights being used for leisure travel and a big market is waiting to be tapped.”

New Delhi-based Flaps Aviation said it is planning to launch India’s first air ambulance service by the end of October. “We are primarily looking to base ourselves in the non-metros of the country, which is where the market for air ambulance services is,” Managing Director Anil Kumar said. “Our aim is not just to ensure easy and quick availability of air ambulances, but also provide it at a reasonable rate.”

The air ambulance from Guwahati to New Delhi costs around Rs 5,00,000 per trip.