Captain Gorur Ramaswamy Gopinath started his journey with a dream - a dream inspired by one simple statement: "I want every Indian to fly at least once in their lives." With a population of over 1 billion people, India certainly has a huge reservoir of future passengers. In 2002, when Captain Gopinath first raised the idea of a low-cost airline to serve the needs of India travel, no one took him seriously. Bankers refused to finance him, the aircraft manufacturers ignored him and the aviation industry observers swore that India was not ready. However, he was convinced that the emerging middle class of India, already buying color TVs and cell phones, can be converted to air traffic. In 2003 launched the first low-cost airline company in India with a leased 48-seater ATR and $ 10 million from investors. By 2007, Captain Gopinath was close to the realization of his dream. Air Deccan, with a market share of 21.6%, was the fastest growing India Low-cost, and the second largest airline in the country. He ran the most extensive network in India covering 61 airports, flew some 306 scheduled flights per day and operates a new fleet of 14 Airbus A320 aircraft and 22 Turboprops ATR. Visionary and always optimistic, Captain Gopinath has brought about a total revolution in the highly regulated Indian skies. But every revolution carries within it the seeds of its own destruction. Competition has been growing rapidly now that the model has been verified, and the Indian airport infrastructure was on the verge of a massive breakdown. New business models have been designed to stay ahead of the curve. The new logo for the company mysteriously offered a glimpse of what Captain Gopinath had in mind: SIMPLIFLY Learning objectives:. Learn about new business models, innovation, growth management, low cost carrier strategy, the Indian question "Hide
by Benoit Leleux, Isabelle Pigeaux Source: IMD 24 pages. Publication Date: July 1, 2008. Prod. #: IMD377-PDF-ENG
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