Air Deccan, India's first no-frills, low-cost airline, has lined up a huge expansion plan to tap the nation's booming aviation sector.
"We will be launching 112 aircraft in 112 months. So every month we will add a new airplane over the next 9 years," Air Deccan managing director Capt G R Gopinath said, speaking to rediff.com.
The Air Deccan chief was in Mumbai to attend the Digital Summit 2006 organised by the Internet and Mobile Association of India on Tuesday.
The airline also plans to go public soon and will make its initial public offering in a few months. "Talks are on and a final decision will be taken in two weeks," he said. Air Deccan has already taken delivery of 7 new ATR aircraft, and plans are underway to replace the entire fleet with new aircraft: ATRs and Airbuses.
Gopinath also said that the airline will require about 900 pilots in the next 6 to 7 years. "We already have the largest network of 46 destinations in India. Now we are looking at adding more destinations and lowering fares further in the future."
On the likely merger of Jet Airways and Sahara, Gopinath said there is nothing to worry about. "My competition has never been with Jet Airways. The merger is not going to affect Air Deccan," he said..
However, he confirmed that talks are on over a code-sharing agreement with Jet Airways and a final decision on the issue has yet to be taken.
To scale up services, Air Deccan will take assistance from Ryan Air, the United Kingdom-based low-cost airline, and JetBlue Airways of the United States. Top management teams from these carriers will soon visit Air Deccan to help upgrade services.
Air Deccan also plans to increase its charter flights, from the present 12 aircraft, recognising a good market for this segment.
On tie-ups, Gopinath said a pact with SpiceJet is already in place, wherein Air Deccan passengers who are stranded during any flight, will be accommodated on SpiceJet and vice versa.
Gopinath said, from one aircraft and one airline, two and a half years ago, we now have 28 aircraft to 46 destinations and the growth in the future is going to be tremendous.
