Multi-brand retailer of mobile handsets Sangeetha Mobiles Pvt Ltd has partnered with Bengaluru-based Aviators Air Rescue, a dedicated air ambulance service provider, to provide its customers in South India with subsidised air ambulance services on an annual subscription model.
Customers of Sangeetha Mobiles who purchase products worth ₹10,000 and above at its stores will be eligible for this service, which will cost ₹3,000 a year for an individual and ₹6,000 a year for a family of four with two kids below 18 years of age.
Membership card
The customers will receive a helicopter air ambulance membership kit which will have step-wise details of the registration process. Post-registration, customers will receive an acknowledgement email and the membership card will be sent by post. The membership will be valid for one year. Aviators Air Rescue launched its air ambulance services in India in January this year and has logged 1,100 hours of flying, of which 20 per cent were emergency services.
The company operates three Airbus H130 helicopters designed for medical evacuation out of Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
Customer-friendly schemes
The company has partnered with Apollo Hospitals for specialist doctors and paramedics who will accompany the patient.
“We work on the principle of creating customer delight and gaining customer loyalty. We were the first to introduce a price drop protection plan at ₹99 a month where we refund the cost of the handset if the price drops within a particular time-frame. We also offer damage protection plans, theft protection plans and an assured buyback plan for customers who want to upgrade their phones. We now want to offer life protection to the gadget owners. This air ambulance service is another step towards building a bond with our customers,” said L Subhash Chandra, MD of Sangeetha Mobiles.
The normal cost incurred by a patient for such services is ₹1 lakh per hour plus extra charges of ₹15,000-₹25,000 for the specialist doctor accompanying the patient. “The average flight time ranges between 12 minutes and 90 minutes and from the time we receive a call to evacuate a patient, we take 30-40 minutes to react. We started with a ₹30,000 annual subscription for a family which we dropped to ₹6,000 three months ago, we would eventually like to drop it to ₹500, in order to make air ambulance services affordable to all,” said Arun Sharma, Managing Director of Aviators Air Rescue. Sangeetha Mobiles has a current turnover of ₹1,000 crore, 12 million customers, over 400 stores across India, and sells 1.4 million phones every year.
Source:-.thehindubusinessline
