The Hindu Business Line : Air Deccan to invest $5 m for hangar in Chennai

Capt Gopinath (left), Managing Director, Air Deccan, and Mr Selva Kumar, Regional Manager, HPCL, Chennai, at a press conference in Chennai on Friday. - Bijoy Ghosh

Chennai , July 1

TO strengthen its infrastructure and ensure better maintenance of its aircraft, Air Deccan is investing $5 million for setting up a 16,000-sq-ft hangar at the Chennai International Airport.

Captain G.R. Gopinath, Managing Director, Air Deccan, said that this hangar would do the routine line checks and maintenance for the airline. Earlier the airline was dependant on others for hangar facilities.

The airline has taken delivery of three Airbus aircraft this month and will be enhancing its connections to Hyderabad and Bangalore out of Chennai. There will be hourly shuttle flights between Chennai and Bangalore, Captain Gopinath said. Tutricorin will go online next month when the flight to Madurai will be extended to the southern port town, he said.

Captain Gopinath said that the shortage of aircraft was one of the reasons for the recent spate of flight disruptions. In the last month alone, the airline's Airbus fleet took five bird hits, he said. Since there was a shortage of aircraft, many of the flights were cancelled.

The airline was also affected when 15 pilots left to join another airline, so foreign pilots were recruited, he said. Talking about the shortage of pilots in the country, Captain Gopinath said that most Indian pilots are from the Indian Air Force and their numbers are limited. He said that in the next five years, the airline would require about 650 pilots. At present, the airline has 200 pilots.

Air Deccan has placed orders for 30 new ATR 72 500 and 30 Airbus A320 to be delivered over the next five years. The investment in the Airbus would be about $1.4 billion, Captain Gopinath said. The airline is in the process of setting up a simulator training school and engineering school to enable pilots from various airlines in India and Asia to do their conversion.

The airline has partnered with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) to distribute tickets through 22 HPCL petrol stations in Chennai. Passengers can now book their air tickets at the petrol stations, which open early and close late.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Air Deccan to invest $5 m for hangar in Chennai

Kamal Nath inaugurates import warehouse in Bangalore

A canal that's more than a waterway

A shot in the arm for coastal shipping

All roads lead to Madurai

Liquid bulk cargo jetties at JNPT — Edible oil importers flay BPCL's `priority berthing' proposal

Ready for ride

Senior Airbus official quits