Air Deccan rules out sale to beer billionaire

Bangalore: Air Deccan, India's largest low-fare carrier, on Tuesday ruled out a sale to billionaire Vijay Mallya, saying a combination of the two airlines would make no cultural or business sense. "He may want to buy the moon but the moon may not be available for sale," Air Deccan chief G R Gopinath told the media in Bangalore, a day after Mallya said his Kingfisher Airlines was interested in buying the no-frills airline.
"We are from different planets; he is from Venus, I am from Mars," Gopinath added in the city where both airlines are based. "We are from the opposite ends of the business spectrum, consumer models and consumer space.
"We are mining the bottom of the pyramid, he is picking the cream off the top."
Still the bespectacled, low-key entrepreneur said he got along well with Mallya, a flaymboyant tycoon who has named his airline after the flagship beer brand of his UB Group.
"We are good friends and enjoy drinking a beer together," Gopinath said. "But that's about all. Our vision and philosophy are totally different."
08/05/07 Economic Times

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Categories: Air Deccan May 2007, Kingfisher May 2007