India's first low-cost carrier Air Deccan, which ceased operations after being acquired by erstwhile Kingfisher Airlines in 2008, took wings again as a commuter airline today with its maiden flight taking off for Jalgaon from Mumbai.

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

The flight, DN 1320, got airborne at 2.55 pm for Jalgaon in North Maharashtra, around 400 km from Mumbai, where it landed at sharp 4 pm amid the traditional water cannon salute.

The flight was inaugurated by Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil along with Air Deccan chairman Captain G R Gopinath.

Air Deccan's strategic partners Shaishav Shah of Ahmedabad-based GSEC Ltd and Himanshu Shah of Monarch Networth Capital as well as senior DGCA officials were on-board the 19-seater Beechcraft 1900 D aircraft.

The flight took off the ground around 2.55 pm instead of the scheduled departure of 1.20 pm due to some airport- related issues.

Addressing a small function at the Jalgaon airport to mark the arrival of first scheduled flight, Gopinath said the objective of the relaunch of Air Deccan was to realise an unfulfilled dream, and to provide connectivity to all parts of Maharashtra as well as other regions of the country.

"We plan to connect Satara, Solapur, Latur and many many more cities of the state with Mumbai," he said.

Air Deccan, which was granted the scheduled commuter operator's permit by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to launch air services under the Government's regional connectivity scheme, Udan, has started flights to Jalgaon and Nashik from Mumbai and Pune, and will soon connect Kolhapur as well, Gopinath said.

In the first phase, it will operate 36 flights per week.

Earlier, talking to

 

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)