With a new airline in prospect, Indian aviation can hope for the best. Founder of Air Deccan (later Kingfisher Red) is likely to start an airline that may offer cheap domestic travel to not only locals but also foreign vacationers with flights to India.
The struggling Indian aviation industry can surely afford a faint smile as the reports of a new airline launch do the rounds in the country. Captain G R Gopinath, the man credited with the introduction of no-frill airline concept in India by starting Air Deccan in 2003, is reportedly eyeing a comeback in the Indian airline space by launching another carrier.
Gopinath sold Air Deccan to Kingfisher’s Vijay Mallya in 2007, who rechristened the carrier as Kingfisher Red. However, much water has passed under the bridge since then and Mallya has decided to cease the low cost brand Kingfisher Red and turn it into a full service airline. Low-cost Kingfisher Red offered cheap airfares not only on domestic circuit but also provided low-priced flights to India from few neighbouring countries.
And now years after selling Air Deccan, Capt G R Gopinath is looking for another foray into India’s aviation sector. He has already secured a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the authorities to start a passenger airline.
Jayanth Pooviah, Director And Chief Executive Officer of Deccan Charters, validated the development.
“We applied and received the NOC two months ago. It’ll be something like Air Deccan,” Pooviah was quoted in several media reports. He, however, refused to divulge anything more.
From whatever trifling of reports trickling in, it seems somewhat confirmed that new airline would follow a low-cost, no-frills model. Surely good news for travellers who look for cheap flight tickets for domestic travel within India. Even international tourists can look to complement their cheap flights to India deals by opting to book with low-cost carrier for their domestic legs of journey.
Reports in India media hint that the operations for the new airline may start by the end of the year or next year.
Reports also say that Mumbai, Delhi, Coimbatore, Madurai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Guwahati and Goa could be the destinations that might be included in the airline’s network.