Two decades ago, sitting next to a burger-chomping carpenter going on a vacation on a low-cost flight in the US, Captain G.R. Gopinath had an epiphany—like the carpenter, why can’t ‘everyone’ fly in India as well? It is the ‘eureka’ moment the aviation pioneer credits to his decision to start India’s first low-cost airline, Air Deccan. The rest is chequered history.
Less known is that it was not his only eureka moment. Just before Air Deccan was born, Gopinath had to take a low-cost flight from London which was not flying from Heathrow, but a less known small airport called Luton. “That’s when I realised that London had six airports and all were international!” he said. Luton, the smallest among them, carried roughly the same number of passengers travelling through all of India’s 40 or so airports at that time.
Fast forward to today, India’s air traffic is hovering close to its pre-pandemic high of 14 crore passengers a year. That may sound impressive when you compare it with the 1.3 crore back in 2002. But it is cold comfort when you compare it with some other statistics. Brazil has a population of 21 crore, but its air passenger numbers just before Covid was 10 crore. Malaysia has a population of three crore, and nearly two crore annual air travellers. Ireland’s population is just half a crore, but it sold four crore flight tickets a year before the pandemic. China, which has a population comparable with India, had a high of nearly 66 crore passengers pre-Covid.
Denne historien er fra July 17, 2022-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra July 17, 2022-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.
