If reports are to be believed, Ratan Tata may soon foray into the aviation sector once again after 1993. Talks are on between Tata and many other international firms.

Ratan Tata, a trained pilot himself, is working out possibilities of getting into a deal with international players for providing services in helicopters, jetliners and aircraft management and maintenance. The main companies investing in this venture would be Tata Sons and Tata Industries.

The business model most likely to be adapted by Tata is that of fractional ownership. In such a process, individuals and companies can own an aircraft for a specified period of time at a fraction of the original cost. An official was quoted saying by a leading Indian daily that discussions including the equity structure of the venture are at an early stage. If the deal materialises, then it will be Tata’s second large scale investment in the aviation industry after it inked a deal with the Singapore based BJets in 2008.

The holding partner in the BJets deal is the group’s hospitality arm Taj Hotels aka Indian Hotels. Taj holds about 62 per cent stake in BJets, which has mainly Cessna’s and Hawker aircrafts. Apart from Avantair and BJets, Tata is also in talks with the Hong Kong based Metrojet to provide aircraft maintenance to the Indian corporate sector.