Air Deccan to fly cargo

Mumbai: Air Deccan founder GR Gopinath is mulling a new start-up--and this time, it is a cargo airline.
The captain who set up from scratch what became India's first, pioneering low-cost airline -- Deccan Aviation -- only to lose it to liquor baron Vijay Mallya, is currently engrossed in preparing a blue print to start what could become the country's first dedicated cargo airline.
Sources said Gopinath, whose stake in Deccan Aviation is worth Rs 211 crore today, has hired Jude Fonseca, a expat who is an old hand in air cargo operations, to help steer efforts to start a cargo airline -- also from scratch.
Fonseca, who was hired 3 months ago, comes from UPS, the global air cargo operator. He was based out of Australia, sources said.The cargo start-up is independent of Deccan Aviation, sources said.Gopinath, who'll retain the helicopter services of Deccan Aviation, has already set up a separate office to chart out the flight path of the air cargo business.Fonseca currently operates from this office and does not interact with Deccan Aviation staffers.
15/02/08 Agencies/Central Chronicle

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Categories: Cargo Feb 2008, Deccan Feb 2008, New Feb 2008