India, Inc. lifts Air Deccan to the skies

Low-cost carrier Air Deccan is betting on assured occupancy agreements with India Inc for developing its feeder route network. Following a pilot deal with Welspun India on the Mumbai-Kandla sector – where the BK Goenka-led company is partly underwriting the daily service – Air Deccan is close to inking a similar deal with the Tatas on the yet-to-be-launched Kolkata-Jamshedpur flight.

The country’s second-largest carrier said it has received similar proposals from a host of corporates to start operations on low-volume sectors across the country. The no-frills carrier is also in talks with JSW Steel for underwriting 10 seats on the recently-launched Bangalore-Bellary route. The arrangement with the Tatas involves the group company Tata Steel that is preparing to open up its private airstrip in Jamshedpur.

Click for complete article