Captain Gopinath readies to enter logistics business

Bangalore: Captain Gorur Ramaswamy Gopinath - popular as Captain Gopi, is all set to enter the logistics segment after logging out of the passenger air traffic space.
After ushering India in a new era of low cost fares, the 'Udupi tiffin of airlines' as he would call it, the National Defence Academy graduate has decided to move out of the passenger air traffic segment due to the rising cost of flying.
His new company will be launched within a few months, "there is a lot of background work, we have to tie up a lot of issues before we go public," Captain Gopinath told India Today.
The global aviation turbine fuel (ATF) bill last year, for example, was around $140 billion. And even low cost airlines were far beyond the reach of average Indian that Captain Gopi was intending to take on board.
After United Breweries group (UB) chairman Vijay Mallya acquiring Capt Gopi's five-year-old airline, Air Deccan, the aviation pioneer has decided to venture into the logistics business on his own.
Captain Gopi is working on the nitty-gritty of his upcoming venture and aims to connect express freight, road freight, bonded trucking and all aspects of logistics under one shop.
He is also looking at having his logistics operations sited at the centre of India, Nagpur, but may also look at field stations in his home state, Karnataka.
The new company will also bear the name 'Deccan', a household brand.
The helicopter charter company, Deccan Aviation, has 10 helicopters and 2 charters jets operating from 8 locations in India. The company has its presence in Sri Lanka also.
07/10/08 Stephen David/India Today

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Categories: Cargo Oct 2008, New Oct 2008