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Book Review

G.R. Gopinath founded India's first low-cost airline, Air Deccan, in 2003 to make flying more affordable for the common man in India. He implemented cost-cutting strategies like single-flight attendants and 48-seater aircraft. Air Deccan was a pioneer by introducing e-ticketing and serving food on flights. It expanded air travel significantly before being acquired by Kingfisher Airlines. The book details Gopinath's entrepreneurial vision and innovative strategies to create an affordable airline market in India.

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Adithya Adi
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70 views

Book Review

G.R. Gopinath founded India's first low-cost airline, Air Deccan, in 2003 to make flying more affordable for the common man in India. He implemented cost-cutting strategies like single-flight attendants and 48-seater aircraft. Air Deccan was a pioneer by introducing e-ticketing and serving food on flights. It expanded air travel significantly before being acquired by Kingfisher Airlines. The book details Gopinath's entrepreneurial vision and innovative strategies to create an affordable airline market in India.

Uploaded by

Adithya Adi
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 15

HARNHALLI

RAMASWAMY
INSTITUTE OF HIGHER
EDUCATION
BOOK REVIEW
FROM : TO :
PUNEET KUMAR IR
S U D H A M A’ A M
N I K H I L YA D AV H H
A D I T H YA A B
AUTHOR: G R GOPINATH
From a small village near Gorur, Hassan dist
Gopinath's father Ramaswamy Iyengar, a school teacher and a Kannada novelist
After school, he earned a commission in the Indian Army, earning the rank of Captain.
He spent eight years in the army and fought in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
The army life seemed to somehow tie him down. He took early retirement from Indian Army, at the age of 28
After retirement he established an ecologically sustainable sericulture farm; his innovative methods earned him
the Rolex Laureate Award in 1996.Next, he started the Malnad Mobikes (Enfield dealership) and opened a hotel in
Hassan.
In 1997 he co-founded Deccan Aviation, a charter helicopter service. In 2003, Gopinath founded Air Deccan, a low
cost airline
Air Deccan - Cutting Costs, Not Corners

THE STORY OF INDIA’S FIRST LOW COST AIRLINE


Air Deccan: An Overview
India’s first Low Cost Carrier.
Referred as Common Man’s Airline.First airline to introduce E-Ticketing
in India.
By November 2005 it was the 2nd largest privately owned airline in India.
It expanded the size of the Aviation pie.It operated 537 flights to 69
cities.
USP- its advance booking facility
Marketing Strategies

Common Man :
The Brand Ambassador for Air Deccan, the people’s airline is Mr. R.K Laxman’s ‘Common Man’

Free Tickets :
Air Deccan A320-200 cabin. The grey seats
in all Air Deccan aircraft have been changed
to red as part of a rebranding effort after the
takeover by Kingfisher Airlines
Entrepreneurial Strategies
Cost Leadership Strategy:
◦ Single flight Attendant.
◦ 48 seater aircraft to lower maintenance and service fee.
◦ Unique online reservation system.
◦ No frills airline but food/beverages can be bought inside the
aircraft.
◦ Prices are almost 50% lower than full service airline.
Cont.….
Differentiating Strategy:
Single passenger class system.
Tie ups with HPCL and Reliance Web World.
Provides flights even to the hinterland.
Allocation of prices to various percentage of seats.
 Focus Strategy:
 Frequent Business Travellers.
 AC Train Travellers.
Innovative Techniques
Flight food and drinks were served for a price.
Reduced cost of printing and processing.
Cabin crew consisted of single flight attender.
No toll-free number.
Advertisement as a tool to earn revenue.
Aircraft utilization by investing in technology which made flights fly
for more hours as compared to the competitors.
Major Risks
Increase in Competition
◦ Excess capacity could lead to price wars

Oil Price
◦ Extremely vulnerable to oil price fluctuations due to government regulations on price hedging

Regulatory risk
◦ A collapse of the current coalition government could trigger significant changes in India’s
economic liberalization and deregulation policies
Light on Naresh Goyal: Founder and CEO Of JET AIRWAYS

Naresh Goyal is the founder and Chairman


of Jet Airways, India's largest domestic
airline.
In May 1974, Naresh Goyal founded Jet air
(Private) Limited to look after Sales and
Marketing operations of foreign airlines in
India.
Naresh Goyal took advantage of Open
Skies Policy of the Government of India
and set up Jet Airways
DECCAN AVIATION (DECCAN CHARTERS)
DECCAN AVIATION : AN
OVERVIEW
 Deccan Charters is an aviation company based in Bengaluru, India that operates helicopter
and fixed-wing charter services.
 Deccan Charters was found in 1977.
 Its main base is HAL Bangalore International Airport.
 Deccan Technical Services, the maintenance unit of Deccan Charters, maintains helicopters
on behalf of 50 Indian corporates
 Their Mumbai centre is the authorised customer service centre to support Sikorsky S-76
helicopters.
 In March 2017, the firm bagged 21 regional air routes under the Indian Government's
regional connectivity scheme, UDAN.
Conclusion
The book narrates about how G.R.Gopinath took the risk of starting low
cost airlines for the first time in India by implementing sound strategies
to fulfil his vision of “empowering every Indian to fly.”
The idea of creating a new market without eating from the plate of
existing airlines by competing with the railways and roadways, talk
volumes about him being innovative and intuitive
Gopinath wanted to create a new market but also wished to bring in a
new era where there will be change of expectations, triggering
democratization of travel and all psychological barriers of the common
Indian man of not being able to afford to fly in an airline would be done
away with

Therefore it is a true entrepreneurial book

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