Deccan airlines

(July 22, 2021; 5.30pm) Back in 2003, buying an airline ticket was a dream unattainable for many. That is until one man dared to turn that dream into reality and gave wings to the common man. In fact, he created the model for his ground-breaking low-cost airline based on RK Laxman’s Common Man. Meet Captain GR Gopinath, founder of India’s first low-cost airline, Air Deccan. From charging half of what competitor airlines did to introducing “dynamic pricing” that offered tickets for as less as Rs 1, Gopinath changed the face of Indian aviation for good. To many, his sales pitch sounded incredulous. But in his memoir Simply Fly, Gopinath wrote, “The one rupee ticket fired the imagination of the people and quickly became a buzzword.” Original ticket for one ruppee from Mumbai to Coimbatore Air Deccan… — Arul prakasam (@Arulprakasam26) He believed his no-frills airline that was modeled on Europe’s budget carriers like EasyJet and Ryanair, had broken India’s caste and class barrier along with the price barrier. The dynamic pricing allowed a small number of early-bird customers to travel for as little as a rupee, while latecomers would pay a higher price for the tickets. But the higher price was still substantially lower than what competitors charge. In many ways, Gopinath, a former Army captain, paved the way for India’s many low-cost airlines with his unique model. Capt Gopinath was always a restless person, a hustler at heart; Photo Courtesy: Outlook From Hassan to the skies B...

Image: Bandeep Singh / The India Today Group / Getty Images On December 23, 2017, Captain Gorur R Iyengar Gopinath re-entered India’s commercial aviation market, a decade after he had exited from it. With the launch of three flights from Mumbai—to Nashik, Pune and Jalgaon—Gopinath, fondly known as Captain or Gopi, and his airline entity Air Deccan, which made budget air travel in India a reality back in 2003, were back in the game. Budget airlines or low-cost carriers (LCCs), which charge for traditional services such as food and seat allocation and offer low fares, function on a different revenue model as compared to traditional airlines. In 2003, when Gopinath had launched Air Deccan, there were only four airlines—Jet Airways, Air Sahara (which was bought by the former), Air India and Indian Airlines (the latter two have merged since then)—and all were, and continue to be, traditional full-service airlines. Today, LCCs command a 65 percent share of India’s domestic air passenger traffic. Amber Dubey, partner and India head of aerospace and defence at KPMG, points out that Captain Gopinath “is the pioneer of the LCC concept in India”. “He provided regional connectivity when the term was not a buzzword,” says Dubey. It’s a different story though how another budget carrier IndiGo, which launched operations three years after Air Deccan, has become India’s largest and most profitable airline with a 40 percent share of the domestic air passenger traffic while Air Deccan bowed ...

Air Deccan Tickets and Reservations with Alternative Airlines Book Your Flight Tickets and Find Some Amazing Deals Air Deccan ended operations as of April 2020. Below are airlines that fly similar routes that you can book with Alternative Airlines: Alternative Airlines to Air Deccan About Air Deccan was a domestic Indian airline that offered scheduled flights. The airline was based at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai (BOM) and offered Destinations Air Deccan flew to more than 15 destinations. Domestic Destinations STATE CITY AIRPORT Himachal Pradesh Kullu Kullu Manali Airport (KUU) Shimla Shimla Airport (SLV) Jharkhand Jamshedpur Sonari Airport (IXW) Maharashtra Jalgaon Jalgaon Airport (JLG) Kolhapur Kolhapur Airport (KLH) Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM) Nashik Nashik Airport (ISK) Pune Pune Airport (PNQ) Meghalaya Shillong Shillong Airport (SHL) Nagaland Dimapur Dimapur Airport (DMU) National Capital Region New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) Punjab Ludhiana SahnewaI Airport (LUH) Uttarakhand Dehradun Dehradun Airport (DED) Pantnagar Pantnagar Airport (PGH) Uttar Pradesh Agra Agra Civil Enclave (AGR) West Bengal Kolkata Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU) Baggage Carry-On Baggage Passengers were not allowed a suitcase or large bag as carry-on baggage. However, they were allowed to bring a small personal item with them, such as a handbag, briefcase, laptop and case, diaper bag, small...

Founded as Air Deccan on 25 August 2003, Kingfisher Red holds the distinction of being India's first low-cost airline. Its founder is Captain G R Gopinath. Soon after its conception, the airline started its regular air operations, with its flights scheduled to ply from Bangalore to Mangalore and Hubli. The airline has grown rapidly since its inception. It has revolutionized air travel in India and has brought air travel within the reach of common man. It was the first airline in India to link second rung cities like Hubli, Madurai and Visakhapatnam, to metros like Bangalore and Chennai. Read on to check out the profile of Kingfisher Red. The evolution of Air Deccan to Kingfisher Red is quite an interesting story. In October 2007, when Kingfisher Airlines took over Air Deccan, the latter was renamed as Simplifly Deccan, with the old logo replaced by the Kingfisher Logo and the same font of Kingfisher Airlines. The bright combination of red and white substituted the old yellow and blue color scheme, used in Air Deccan. With the same premium look and feel, Simplifly Deccan promised to provide excellent on-time performance. The name was subsequently changed to Kingfisher Red in August 2008. The re-branding cost a whopping Rs 15 crore. Previously operated by Deccan Aviation, Kingfisher Red is headquartered in Bangalore, India, and currently run by Kingfisher Airlines. Presently, Kingfisher Red is the only low-cost Indian airline to provide complimentary in-flight meals and bott...

At the 68 th National Film Awards, Soorarai Pottru has won five awards including Best Feature Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. Directed by Sudha Kongara Prasad, Soorarai Pottru is a celluloid adaptation of the autobiography titled Simply Fly, which tells the story of Captain G R Iyengar Gopinath, the founder of Air Deccan, and his journey from riding a bullock cart to pioneering India’s low-cost aviation for millions of middle-class travelers. Available in the Academy Screening Room, the movie entered the race for the Oscars 2021 under the general category. Picture Credit: The Better India (left) and Gulf News (right) Captain Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar Gopinath’s life is an inspiring rags-to-riches story originating in a humble background to culminating at a stupendous height of 30,000 feet. When the middle-class Indian travelers started dreaming of flying in the era of economic liberalization that the Internet boom had brought in, G R Gopinath came forward to fulfill their dream. He laid the foundation of low-cost air travel in India and brought them within the ambit of what people from the upper reaches of economy were enjoying. Thus, Air Deccan – India’s first low-cost airline – was born in August 2003. Before other Indian low-cost carriers – IndiGo and SpiceJet – took to the skies, G R Gopinath’s Air Deccan had grown from two aircraft to a fleet of nearly 50 aircraft in 2005. It became India’s second largest airline in 2007 serving 55 de...

Premium All corporate ethics compromised in Kingfisher Airlines-Deccan Aviation deal: Fraud investigation office The SFIO has found that Kingfisher created three business segments — commercial airlines, ground handling and training — on paper after announcing its merger with DAL to avoid paying capital gains tax. ‘Kingfisher paid Rs 30-cr non- compete fee to Gopinath’ A probe by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has found that “all corporate ethics were compromised” in the merger between Vijay Mallya-controlled Kingfisher Airlines Ltd (KFAL) and Deccan Aviation Ltd (DAL). According to the SFIO report, Kingfisher Airlines created new divisions with backdated book entries to avoid taxes, paid a Rs 30 crore non-compete fee to DAL founder Captain G R Gopinath without disclosing it to stakeholders or the high court, and carried out “circular transactions” worth Rs 70 crore between UB group firms and entities controlled by Gopinath. The SFIO has found that Kingfisher created three business segments — commercial airlines, ground handling and training — on paper after announcing its merger with DAL to avoid paying capital gains tax. Tax norms stipulate that distinct divisions should exist in a “demerged” and resulting entity prior to the demerger in order to be exempt from capital gains tax. In this case, Kingfisher’s airlines operation was to be demerged into DAL, which was subsequently renamed as Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. Captain Gopinath has, however, said that he wa...

Air Deccan, India’s first domestic low cost airline, is set to relaunch operations this month with what it is remembered for the most — Rs 1 tickets. People queue up at an Air Deccan counter outside the Delhi airport in February 2006. The airline, which merged with Kingfisher Airlines, was grounded in 2012 due to Kingfisher’s financial troubles.(HT File Photo) Air Deccan, founded by GR Gopinath in 2003, merged with Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines in 2008 but was grounded in 2012 under financial duress. In its second innings, the airline will begin with four bases at Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Shillong, connecting them with smaller cities around them. It is rare for airlines, that often go belly up in a cost-heavy industry, to revive. The first Air Deccan flight will take-off on December 22 and fly to Mumbai from Nashik, Gopinath told Mint, speaking from his home in Bangalore. “This will be my last Udan and then I will hang up my boots,” said Gopinath, who has been waiting for a re-entry for few years now. The government’s Udan scheme (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik), which loosely translates as “let the common man fly” and proposes to connect small towns on fares of about Rs2,500 for a one-hour flight, has provided that entry for the entrepreneur. Air Deccan, which has the tagline “Simplifly”, will brand its entry with a “the common man takes to the skies” logo designed by cartoonist the late R.K. Laxman. “Some of the initial lucky people will be able to get Rs 1 fares also,” G...