Editor's Picks
(1-4 of 8)
Giving Wings To The Common Man'S Dream
‘Entrepreneurship’
seems to be the buzzword
today especially with
numerous young minds
beaming with innovative
ideas and hoping to
create a change. But
history stands
witness—to the numerous
‘so called innovative
ideas’ that have
perished without a sign
and also to the simplest
of ideas that have taken
over the world like a
whirlwind. It is at times
like these that one
realizes the
entrepreneurship is all
about finding a solution
to the most simple of
problems and envisioning
a future in it. One such
person is Captain GR
Gopinath, Managing
Director of Air Deccan,
who on realizing the deep
void in the Indian
aviation industry
envisioned a future by
fulfilling the void.
Gopinath, son of a municipal schoolteacher in a remote village of Karnataka went to school bare-footed not because it was fashion then, but because he didn't have the financial support. On completing his schooling at Sainik (military) School, Bijapur, he joined the distinguished National Defence Academy and later graduated from the Indian Military Academy as a commissioned officer in the Indian Army served in the Army for eight years.
Sometime in 1995, the Govt. of India started the reforms process by encouraging entrepreneurship. Foreseeing the Indian economy's shift to a market-led economy, the entrepreneur in him was inspired to identify the tremendous potential Helicopter Charter had in India, since the hinterland of India was not connected by air. "Helicopter is an infrastructure in the sky. You need helicopter for aerial photography, gas pipeline services, mining and so on. These sectors were opening up," Gopinath said during a talk.
In 1996, along with an old Army friend he decided to start a private sector commercial helicopter service. In order to raise the much-needed capital, Gopinath sold the little ancestral property he had, only to face rejection from the banks where he had applied for a loan as well. Instead of losing hope, Gopinath went on to persuade a Japanese company to let him borrow a helicopter and convinced the then Chief Minister of karnataka to allot him a hangar at the Bangalore airport.
Finally he started the service with one helicopter in 1997. From one helicopter, today Deccan Aviation boasts of ten Helicopters and two charter jets operating from eight major locations criss-crossing the entire length of the country. This company is India’s most reputed private Air Charter Company with a presence now in Srilanka also.
Understanding the further needs of this segment, Capt Gopinath decided to start the first Low Cost, No Frills Airline of India. Launched on 25th August 2003, Air Deccan, with a vision to connect hitherto unconnected parts of India, revolutionized air travel in India. When he had started Decan Aviation, he had approached TDICI, the former VC avtar of ICICI Venture, but they refused saying they would fund only IT ventures. But, six months after he started Air Deccan, there were 20 VC firms queuing up to fund him. Though, Kingfisher Airlines now holds the majority stake in it today, Air Deccan till date remains the biggest aviation success story in India.
The bottomline is: Gopinath found a void in the Indian aviation business, launched a product that not only suited Indian needs but also gave wings to what had always been just a common man's dream - Air travel at affordable costs.
Gopinath, son of a municipal schoolteacher in a remote village of Karnataka went to school bare-footed not because it was fashion then, but because he didn't have the financial support. On completing his schooling at Sainik (military) School, Bijapur, he joined the distinguished National Defence Academy and later graduated from the Indian Military Academy as a commissioned officer in the Indian Army served in the Army for eight years.
Sometime in 1995, the Govt. of India started the reforms process by encouraging entrepreneurship. Foreseeing the Indian economy's shift to a market-led economy, the entrepreneur in him was inspired to identify the tremendous potential Helicopter Charter had in India, since the hinterland of India was not connected by air. "Helicopter is an infrastructure in the sky. You need helicopter for aerial photography, gas pipeline services, mining and so on. These sectors were opening up," Gopinath said during a talk.
In 1996, along with an old Army friend he decided to start a private sector commercial helicopter service. In order to raise the much-needed capital, Gopinath sold the little ancestral property he had, only to face rejection from the banks where he had applied for a loan as well. Instead of losing hope, Gopinath went on to persuade a Japanese company to let him borrow a helicopter and convinced the then Chief Minister of karnataka to allot him a hangar at the Bangalore airport.
Finally he started the service with one helicopter in 1997. From one helicopter, today Deccan Aviation boasts of ten Helicopters and two charter jets operating from eight major locations criss-crossing the entire length of the country. This company is India’s most reputed private Air Charter Company with a presence now in Srilanka also.
Understanding the further needs of this segment, Capt Gopinath decided to start the first Low Cost, No Frills Airline of India. Launched on 25th August 2003, Air Deccan, with a vision to connect hitherto unconnected parts of India, revolutionized air travel in India. When he had started Decan Aviation, he had approached TDICI, the former VC avtar of ICICI Venture, but they refused saying they would fund only IT ventures. But, six months after he started Air Deccan, there were 20 VC firms queuing up to fund him. Though, Kingfisher Airlines now holds the majority stake in it today, Air Deccan till date remains the biggest aviation success story in India.
The bottomline is: Gopinath found a void in the Indian aviation business, launched a product that not only suited Indian needs but also gave wings to what had always been just a common man's dream - Air travel at affordable costs.
Sign Up For a Roundup of The Week's Top Bloggers
Email:
