Inspiring Captain Gopinath, The Man Who Made Flying Affordable To Middle Class Indians

Capt. Gopinath is a versatile individual who has held positions as an entrepreneur, a successful Indian army soldier, and the creator of Air Deccan. Having served in the military with distinction, he then founded a charter helicopter company that provided low-cost flights to India. Sixty-nine cities were connected by Air Deccan, which was eventually acquired by Kingfisher Airlines in 2007. Among his various endeavors, Deccan Aviation, which was established in 1996, is one of the biggest providers of private aircraft charter services in Sri Lanka and India.

Inspiring Captain Gopinath story is taken as inspiration sudha ragunath directed his own biography as “soorarai Pottru”

Born into a isolated village in the Hassan district of Karanataka, Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar Gopinath was the second kid born to eight siblings. As a school teacher, Gopinath’s father also decided to give him private lessons and trained him in person. Gopinath passed the 1962 entrance exam for the Sainik School in Bijapur, which helped him later pass the entrance tests for the NDA.

Following graduation, he was commissioned as a Captain in the Indian Army. He fought in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and served in the army for eight years. However, Gopinath decided to retire early, as is the case with all interesting careers that come to an end. He established an environmentally friendly sericulture farm at the age of 28. This creative move earned Rolex Laureate Award in 1996.

He was a founding member of Deccan Aviation, a helicopter charter business, in 1997. After that, Gopinath started Air Deccan, a low-cost carrier that merged with Kingfisher Airlines in 2007. He established Deccan 360, a freight flying company, in 2009. However, due to legal concerns, the Karnataka High Court ordered Deccan 360 to wind down in July 2013.

Capt. Gopinath received the highest civilian honor bestowed by the French government, the “Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur,” in May 2006. He is also the author of the 2010 Collins Business book Simply Fly: A Deccan Odyssey.

Indiatimes notes that Bengaluru-based Air Deccan, which mostly caters to long-distance travelers who would otherwise have to spend days on a train, offered inexpensive air travel to Indians. According to the report, the airline witnessed a sharp decline in 2007 despite having a fleet of 43 aircraft during one of its highest eras. It operated 350 daily flights to 61 locations and held a 22% market share among passengers. At this point, business magnate Vijay Mallya became involved and made an investment in Air Deccan.

plane Deccan made flying a reality for every middle-class Indian by offering affordable plane rates as low as Rupee 1, which essentially gave most first-time travelers a free ride, according to a Business Standard study.