LOW COST Airlines - Ready for Takeoff in India

The Low cost model caught the imagination of G.R. Gopinath, the managing director of Air Deccan, after he studied the success of South West Airline in the US and Ryanair in Europe. He said, "our country is vast, the infrastructure is poor, air connectivity is bad; all these factors were considered. I realized that if anybody needed low frill aircraft, it was India."¹¹ Gopinath feels that with the liberalization of the economy, businesses are being set up at cheaper locations, but these are poorly connected. Smaller businessmen in India want to travel from point A to B in the shortest possible time and low cost airlines can make this possible. Deccan's business proposition is two-fold: offering connectivity between smaller cities and major metros and making air travel a feasible option. He said, "the idea was to wean away the top end of the air-conditioned rail passengers since the prices will be slightly more than that for a Rajdhani ride.

Recently, Air Deccan announced Rs. 500 airfare from Bangalore to Delhi, giving jitters to the big boys in the aviation industry-Indian Airlines, Jet Airways and Air Sahara. At present Air Deccan operates 54 flights a day with its seven ATR 42-500 aircraft.