NE BUSINESS BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, JUNE 16
Online air ambulance service provider, Book Air Ambulance, on Monday unveiled a cashless air ambulance service in Surat, Gujarat for transporting member-patients in emergency from tier-II cities to the metros, a company release said.
The service will be available on an annual membership of ₹5,000 plus GST. The firm has also tied with an insurance company, as well as pharmaceutical and diagnostic firms.
“The ‘Cashless Air Ambulance’ service has been first launched in Surat. It will cover 14 cities – Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Bhuj, Porbandar, Kandla, Mandavia, Mithapur, Mundra, Amreli, Keshod and Naliya. From these 15 airports, Book Air Ambulance will provide its services to the people from surrounding towns or villages. It will help the people to rapidly, safely and conveniently transport critically – ill patients by air who are undergoing life-threatening situations such as cardiac arrests, neurological issues, burns, multiple fractures, multiple organ failures or cases of road accidents, etc. This ‘airport to airport’ air ambulance evacuation of patients will enhance the chances of the patient’s survival. The Company will be using twin-engine aircraft for all air ambulance evacuation flights,” the release added.
This service is a membership-based programme that will extend a much-needed safety cover to the family of six members at Rs 5,000 plus GST. To make it truly a cashless affair, it will further provide one airlifting completely cashless (free–of–cost) to a member for specific critical medical emergencies anywhere in India. It will also grant a 50 percent discount on air tariff or normal air ambulance charges on all other patient transfers. This programme will be renewable every year and a member can access super-speciality hospitals, pharmacy outlets, diagnostics, health products, etc. at attractive rates. The company will transport patients through its range of aircraft, experienced doctors, a paramedic crew, advanced medical equipment and experienced pilots to rescue of the patient in critical situations.
Commenting on the launch of ‘Cashless Air Ambulance’ programme, Captain Amit Kumar, pilot, Founder and CEO of Flaps Aviation, said, “People in distant cities and towns of Gujarat rush the patients in emergencies to the cities like Ahmedabad, New Delhi or Mumbai where time and distance play a crucial role in saving the patient’s precious life. We want to provide a strong option to ground transportation of patients with economical air ambulance services so that even common people can afford it. With the Cashless Air Ambulance programme, we will be covering entire Gujarat with our affordable and quick air ambulance evacuation services in every part of Gujarat. This cost-effective service will decrease travel and treatment time with many survival benefits.”
Hitherto, air medical transfers of the patients were considered to be a costly affair availed only by a high income – group people leaving a huge class of masses out of the service ambit. The service charges are exorbitant ranging anywhere between Rs 2.5 Lakh and even Rs 18 Lakh per patient transfer depending on the distance covered.
As medical emergencies occur anytime, a member can thus factor his medical priorities in advance and link his medical insurance policy with the air ambulance benefits to further manage his claims, he added.
Currently, Book Air Ambulance is operating all across India in metros like Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and other Tier II and III cities and towns of India where it finds a huge scope for the patient – transfers due to the lack of sophisticated medical facilities required in emergencies.
Linking with Medical Insurance Policies
Bringing the air ambulance services in the medical insurance bracket will also augment the growth of the sector and the Company. “We are in discussion with insurance companies for joining hands to cover a larger number of patient’s air ambulance transfers that will positively impact the company’s growth,” said Captain Amit Kumar.
