Deccan 360 to fly into small towns

Ramiya Bhas. Mumbai

Deccan 360, G R Gopinaths cargo enterprise, is all set to expand its operations in the next six months, a senior company official said.

The company, which began operations last year, now flies to ten airports in the country.

“We currently have a fleet that flies to ten metros and non-metros and are looking to expand services to four more airports,” Hemanth D P, Deccan 360s deputy chief operations officer, said. He said the company will now concentrate on secondary and tertiary towns in the country. “We see them as emerging markets for our business,” Hemanth said.

According to Hemanth, the company is expanding into these cities as they are projected to grow at as high as 80-85%, based on their GDP and the manufacturing segments.

Currently, Deccan 360 operates 500 vehicles and flies seven freighter aircraft, including four ATRs and three Airbus A310s. “Throughout out this expansion, we will not bring in more aircraft. However, we are planning to add more trucks and vehicles,” Hemanth said.

He said Deccan 360 would hire personnel and add more motorcycles, which will be used for the express delivery segment. He said the company is currently talking to a few investors for equity infusion.

It plans to raise $ 25 million through equity. Gopinath had initially invested the same amount himself.