Captain G. R. Gopinath is a pioneer of low cost air travel in India. He is the founder of the low cost airline Air Deccan. Captain G. R. Gopinath is a graduate of the National Defence Academy and has served the Indian Army. Personal He was educated in a village school and at Sainik School, Bijapur. After completing school, he got selected to the NDA (National Defence Academy) and went on to be commissioned in the Indian Army where he spent the next eight years and fought in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation war. He quit the Army to come back to his village he became a farmer who converted barren land in to proper plantation. Next, he started the Malnad Mobikes(Enfield dealership)and opened a hotel in Hasan. G.R Gopinath made his foray in the aviation sector way back in 1995; at a time when domestic aviation was largely monopolized and strict government regulations were the norm. He identified the potential which the helicopter charter business had in India. With his entrepreneurial skills coupled with the technical skills of his ex-army friends, he launched ‘Deccan Aviation’ – a dedicated, customer focused heli-charter Company. The idea of a low cost airline came to Gopinath one day while flying from Bangalore to Goa. With rising incomes and increased spending power of Indians, affordable and reliable air travel too has the potential to acquire a mass consumption base. The result was Air Deccan, India’s first low cost, no frill airline, which was launched on the strength of a simple dream. A dream inspired by just one statement. “I want every Indian to fly at least once in his/ her lifetime.” Aviation career . Air Deccan In 1995, the Indian government started the reforms process by encouraging entrepreneurship. In the next year he started a private sector commercial helicopter service, Deccan Aviation. In 2003 he launched India's first low-cost airline, Air Deccan . Kingfisher Airlines Beginning with a modest four flights a day, AIR DECCAN in 2007 flew more than 350 flights daily connecting 65 destinations across the country. The airline had emerged as the largest people’s carrier in a span of 4 years, overtaking the national carrier operating for 55 years. In 2008 he handed over the running of the Airline to Dr. Vijay Mallya , the airline has now been merged with Kingfisher and operates under the brand name – Kingfisher Red. Deccan Charters Today Captain Gopinath is focusing on Deccan Charters and has forayed into the Cargo and Express Logistics business. Captain Gopinath aims to be India’s leading express transportation and Logistics Company with a focus on delivering superior customer experience. He wants to ensure that Express logistics is available deep in the smaller cities of India and is not the domain of the Metros alone. Deccan 360 In 2009 Gopinath started Deccan 360 freight and logistics operation. Deccan Express Logistics will be the first Indian company to create a hub and spoke distribution model in the express industry in India connecting not only the metro cities but also the Tier-I & Tier-II cities to India’s trade network. Once operational Deccan Express Logistics’ air & surface network will offer unmatched next day connectivity to more than 85% of the Indian GDP and will offer higher capacity and twice the reach than any other express transportation & logistics company in the country. Awards & Honors 1996 - Rolex awards for Enterprise He won him the “Rolex International Award” for Enterprise in 1996, for his seeking to break new ground with the project ‘Ecological Silk Farming to Improve Living Standards’. The same year he was listed by Outlook magazine as one of the 50 Indians who would rise from obscurity to fame in the coming decade. 2005 - Rajyotsava Award (Karnataka) 2007 - Chevalier de la legion d’Honneur (France) Personality of the Decade Award (K.G. Foundation) Sir M Visvesvaraya Memorial Award (Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry) .