Deccan pitches copter ride to new airport

Bangalore: Deccan Aviation Ltd, which owns nine helicopters, plans to operate an intra-city chopper shuttle service in the state capital. This is to ferry to the new airport on Bangalore’s outskirts passengers who wish to avoid the city’s notorious traffic gridlocks.
The new airport, being built by Bangalore International Airport Ltd at Devanahalli, is 35km north of the city’s central business district (CBD). The airport will become operational in March, but it can be accessed from the city currently only through a clogged, four-lane national highway.
At present, it takes an average 90-180 minutes to reach the airport from the city’s CBD, longer than the duration of flights to cities such as Hyderabad and Chennai.
“We have two helicopters in Bangalore. One can be put into shuttle service once the new airport starts,” says Capt. G.R. Gopinath, executive chairman of Deccan Aviation, which also runs India’s biggest low-cost airline.
Based in Bangalore, Deccan is preparing a detailed business plan for operating the heli-charter service, which will be ready by the month-end, Gopinath adds. A BIAL spokesperson declined to comment on the planned service.
07/11/07 K. Raghu/Livemint

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Categories: New Nov 2007, Simplifly Deccan Nov 2007