Captain Gopinath takes to the air again with Deccan 360
04 Nov 2009
Mumbai: Pioneering low-cost aviation personality, Captain GRI Gopinath, makes a second foray in aviation by launching a dedicated air cargo operation, 'Deccan 360'. He earlier sold out his pioneering venture, 'Air Deccan' to Kingfisher Airlines.
The Nagpur-based cargo operation kicks off Wednesday and will deploy three A310 planes, and seven smaller ATR planes, to connect 17 Indian cities and international destinations, such as Dubai and Hong Kong.
With the ongoing recession impacting attempts to raise funds for his venture Capt Gopinath has sold off a majority of his holdings in Kingfisher Airlines. He is currently invested in Deccan Express to the tune of Rs125 crore and is set to raise an additional Rs150 crore.
The venture is also expected to take on 5,000 staff over five years.
In the first phase, the company plans to appoint 100 franchisees with each franchisee taking on a staff of ten.
Deccan Cargo has an agreement with the GMR Group for setting up express cargo operations at Delhi and Hyderabad airports. These outlets, in combination with the Nagpur hub, will form an extensive multi-modal storage, transportation and delivery network.
Capt Gopinath founded India's first low-cost carrier, Air Deccan, which changed the face of Indian aviation by drawing in customers who had never considered air as a travel option before.
This operation was subsequently sold to Kingfisher Airlines and now operates as Kingfisher Red.
