Indian aviation entrepreneur Captain Gopinath is keen to re-enter the commercial passenger business and is on the lookout for 20-seater aircraft to launch on regional routes. Speaking with the Mumbai Mirror, Gopinath said he is using his charter airline Deccan Charters (Bengaluru International) to bid on routes for Tier III and Tier IV cities.
Gopinath launched India's first low cost carrier, Air Deccan (2003) (Bengaluru International), in 2003 which grew to become the country's second largest carrier by 2007. Kingfisher Airlines (Mumbai International) purchased a controlling stake in Deccan that year, and the two airlines merged in 2008. Kingfisher Airlines ceased operations in 2012.
India's regional connectivity scheme aims to connect underserved areas by providing subsidies to airlines and capped ticket prices to passengers. The cities that Gopinath is interested in – Tier III and Tier IV – have populations of less than 50,000 and 20,000 respectively.
