Mumbai: G.R. Gopinath’s new air cargo venture Deccan 360, his second coming as an aviation entrepreneur, was never an afterthought. Even before he launched low-fare carrier Air Deccan in 2003, helping millions of Indians fly for the first time, he had set his sights on the business.
Gopinath’s plan was to expand Deccan Aviation Pvt. Ltd, then a heli-charter business, to include a no-frills passenger airline that would reach corners untouched by other private airlines. That, he hoped, would also help him tap the vast potential for moving cargo between India’s numerous small-town business hubs.
Back on board: G.R. Gopinath aboard one of his newly launched cargo service aircraft in Delhi. Ramesh Pathania / Mint
His aircraft, the former army captain then said, would ideally carry a 60:40 mix of passengers-to-cargo weight. The cargo would act as a buffer for unfilled passenger seats.
He had envisioned networking with logistics and courier firms to ensure adequate cargo load on the planes, offering to cut the delivery time to hours from days between cities for a modest additional sum. That part of the plan didn’t pan out, though Air Deccan, eventually acquired by Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, would go on to change how Indians travelled.
In May, Gopinath finally launched Deccan Cargo and Express Logistics Pvt. Ltd, flagging off the first cargo flight to Hong Kong from New Delhi, stressing that Deccan 360 is the only Indian cargo airline that is operating on both domestic and international routes.
Gopinath’s entrepreneurial skills would be the biggest asset for Deccan 360, said logistics expert G. Raghuram, a professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
“He could convince investors (for funds) and other industry players (for cargo),” Raghuram said. “Deccan could use its smaller planes to fly as feeder to bigger planes. Though there will be some constraints to do financially well initially, financial investors will be interested in Deccan Cargo at a later point.”
Gopinath, known as Capt. Gopi, is aiming for at least 100 franchises across India by 2011. He will use three large Airbus A310 planes for the international hauls and six smaller ATR aircraft on the domestic routes. Many of his employees at Deccan 360 are from international air cargo companies such as United Parcel Service Inc., DHL Express and FedEx Corp.
His chief executive officer (CEO) Jude Fonseka, too, is a former FedEx honcho, having spent some 21 years at the world’s largest logistics firm.
FedEx has been a major inspiration. Deccan 360’s blueprint was largely based on the US cargo airline, which handles all logistics functions including door-to-door pick-up and delivery of cargo.
Enlisting entrepreneurs
“That was the right model for the US, where there are fewer small and medium enterprises. But India is a different market with (a) lot of small firms,” said a senior Deccan 360 executive on condition of anonymity.