Opening another chapter in aviation industry, G R Gopinath, the pioneer in low-cost carriers, had his Deccan Charters Ltd join hands with Taj Air, the executive charter service of Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), and Business Jets India Pvt Ltd (BJETS), to launch Powerfly.
After some initial take off turbulence, Gopinath is now actively steering the air cargo business steadily with equity infusion from Reliance Industries.
'I remember AK came on set one day; one of his films had released the previous day and was not doing well. He was very attached to that film.' 'I felt he was low and that affected me.'
Throughout its 155 minutes, every scene is doused in blaring background music and melodrama. Disappointment alone won't do, it must feel like a full blown catastrophe, observes Sukanya Verma.
Twinkle's short story Salaam Noni Appa will mark ad-man Sonal Dabral's directorial debut.
The 68th National Film Awards saw actors from across India get together for the prestigious ceremony in New Delhi.
A survey of CEOs shows corporate India is unsure about the party's ideology, with some feeling its left-of-the-centre politics can be detrimental in the long run.
Getting more people to fly with you seems to extract a high cost, as pioneer Gopinath learnt and full service carriers rediscover.
The move by Mumbai airport to have the drop-off point for autos at a distance from the terminals reeks of class distinctions, says Mahesh Vijapurkar.
Some pilots are already in touch with Gopinath while others are betting on Kingfisher's revival.
SBI, along with a few other banks, had given loans to Gopinath for Deccan Cargo, a venture he started in 2009, a few years after he sold Air Deccan to Kingfisher Airlines.
Faced with falling market share, full service airlines are slashing ticket costs to compete with low-cost carriers.
At a panel discussion at the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation's summit in Mumbai on Tuesday, Gopinath also said that airlines should price fares so as to maximise loads.
Jayanth Pooviah, director and chief executive officer of Deccan Charters, confirmed the development.
Discussions have been initiated to sell the company to a Mumbai-headquartered, highly diversified, multi-billion dollar corporate group which has interests in retail and logistics, among various others.
Second deal in 4 months after tie-up with RIL for cargo airlines.
A new generation is being groomed to take over some of the top companies in India. They are savvy, well-educated, and their induction reflects the new complexities of business.
While the quantum of investment could not be ascertained immediately, RIL said that a wholly-owned subsidiary would provide 'growth capital' for the new cargo airline.
The resort, Barefoot, in which Gopinath owns close to 35 per cent, is spread over seven acres 'in exotic locale' and has 18 villas.
Deccan is planning to travel international routes from August from three destinations in India.
Two years after selling his budget carrier, Air Deccan to Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher Airlines, its former chairman Captain G R Gopinath, still harbours a dream to return to the low-cost airline segment, which he pioneered in the country.
The company plans to offer end-to-end logistics solutions where it has custodial charge of the cargo. Till the back-end warehouse infrastructure is ready at the airline's national hub in Nagpur, Gopinath's freighters will fly the Dubai-Mumbai-Delhi-Hong Kong route, offering dedicated cargo space to freight forwarders and serve anyone who wants to move international freight to these cities for time-definite delivery.
UB Holdings, which operates Kingfisher Airline, last year picked up a 26 per cent stake in Deccan Aviation for Rs 550 crore (Rs 5.5 billion). Subsequently, they made an open offer for acquiring another 20 per cent taking its holding to 46 per cent. The merger between Kingfisher Airlines and Air Deccan of Deccan Aviation, is now awaiting Karnataka High Court approval.
Kingfisher Airlines on Thursday said its vice-chairman G R Gopinath has reduced his stake in the air carrier to 1.75 per cent after selling shares worth Rs 4.03 crore (Rs 40.3 million).
Bangalore's new airport will be ready on March 7 to receive the first commercial test flights. It plans to start commercial operations on March 28 or 30, soon after Hyderabad's new airport does so on 16 March.
Rising aviation turbine fuel cost, poor infrastructure, regulatory controls and reluctance of consumers to take to air travel are some of the issues hurting aviation industry in the country, Deccan Aviation executive chairman Captain G R Gopinath said.
Low cost carrier Air Deccan will launch flights to seven new destinations soon.
Several states are identifying greenfield or unutilised projects for low-cost airport.
Deccan Aviation, which operates the country's largest budget carrier Air Deccan, will make a preferential allotment to investors to raise $75-100 million for its expansion plans.
After declaring that it would do whatever it takes to cut flab, Kingfisher Airlines has now said it will not retrench cabin staff.
'I don't think government needs to arrest him'.
Kingfisher and Deccan had appointed Accenture to study the structure of the merger of the two airlines including operational synergies, network rationalisation and management structure.
He came to do one job but finds himself doing another. He came to work with a certain set of people and finds himself working with quite another. That's the piquant situation in which Ramki Sundaram, the 38-year-old officiating chief executive officer of SimpliFly Deccan finds himself today.
Although industry analysts are welcoming Kingfisher Airlines' stake acquisition in Air Deccan as the right move towards consolidation
Captain Gopinath's dream of making every Indian fly will now remain just that. But this will rise to another: Mallya's dream of making Kingfisher one of the world's top airlines.
The booking will open on January 14, at 8 am, it said in a statement.
Budget carrier Air Deccan has signed a $1.5 billion agreement with Airbus Industrie to purchase 30 more Airbus A320 aircraft from the European airplane manufacturer.
Cafe Coffee Day would be the single point vendor to supply food and beverages to the Air Deccan passenger.
With this extra buck in it kitty, will Air Deccan be able to expand its fleet and revamp its services?
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances