G. R. Gopinath 


          

Early life

Gopinath was born in Gorur, Hassan, and grew up in a small village in Gorur, Karnataka's Hassan district. 

Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar, Gopinath's father and a schoolteacher (not to be confused with novelist Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar, Gopinath's mother's uncle), believed that schools were systems of regimentation and was determined to educate Gopinath at home.

Gopinath, on the other hand, was admitted to a Kannada medium school late and immediately enrolled in Standard V. Gopinath passed the admissions test and enrolled in Bijapur's Sainik School in 1962. Gopinath received assistance and preparation from the school in order to pass the NDA entrance examinations.

Gopinath graduated from the National Defence Academy in Pune after three years of rigorous training. He subsequently moved on to the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun, where he received his diploma. 

Career

After graduating from high school, he joined the Indian Army and rose through the ranks to Captain. He served in the army for eight years and fought in the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971-72. 
The army life appeared to bind him in some way. At the age of 28, he retired from the Indian Army early. He built an ecologically sustainable sericulture farm after retiring from the military, and his pioneering methods earned him the Rolex Laureate Award in 1996. Following that, he established Malnad Mobikes (an Enfield dealership) and a hotel in Hassan.

Deccan Aviation, a charter helicopter service, was co-founded by him in 1997. Gopinath started Air Deccan, a low-cost carrier, in 2003; in 2007, Air Deccan merged with Kingfisher Airlines. Deccan 360, a freight aviation company, was formed by him in 2009. Deccan 360 was ordered to wind up by the Karnataka High Court in July 2013, based on petitions filed by Dubai-based United Aviation Services (UAS) and M/s Patel Integrated Logistics (PIL) Pvt. Ltd., both seeking recovery of money owed to them through the company's winding up.

He was knighted in May 2006, receiving the civilian honour "Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur" from the French government. For Air Deccan, he has won numerous honours.
In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Gopinath ran as an independent candidate in the Bangalore South constituency, but was defeated.
He ran for Lok Sabha elections on the Aam Aadmi Party's ticket in 2014, but lost.

Aviation career

Deccan Aviation 

In 1992, Gopinath moved to Bengaluru, where he met Captain K.J. Samuel, a former army comrade. Samuel was a self-employed pilot who wanted to start a commercial helicopter service. Deccan Aviation was founded by Gopinath and Samuel in 1995, when the Indian government began a regulatory reform process to foster entrepreneurship.  Most politicians used Deccan's helicopters, and the company was also involved in numerous rescue missions in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Kabul, and South India. The company expanded to become one of India's and Sri Lanka's leading private air charter companies. 
Deccan Aviation founded India's first low-cost airline, Air Deccan, in 2003, inspired by the success of Southwest Airlines in the United States and Ryanair in Europe. Deccan Aviation went public in May 2006, however the airline was already losing money at the time.  The Vijay Mallya-led UB group bought a strategic 26% interest in Deccan Aviation the next year.  Air Deccan connected sixty-nine cities across India at the time of purchase.  Soon after, Mallya amalgamated the two airlines, and Capt. Gopinath sold the majority of his holdings in the company in 2009. 

Deccan Charters


During the merger process of Kingfisher with Air Deccan, the Charter services division of Deccan Aviation was transferred into a new company named Deccan Charters Limited after it received its Non-Scheduled Air Operator Permit (NSOP) from the DGCA on 10 October 2008. During that period, the Charter operations continued to perform satisfactorily and increased its presence in off shore flying for the oil sector.
In May 2009, Gopinath launched Deccan 360, a freight airline, with funds from the UB Group agreement. However, due to a severe liquidity shortage, that business was forced to close in 2011. In the same year, Gopinath bought out Mallya's portion in Deccan Charters as part of the 2007 arrangement, making him the sole owner of the company.  The next year, under the Deccan Shuttles brand, Gopinath began offering daily charter flights in Gujarat. A nine-seater Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft was used to connect Ahmedabad, Surat, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, and Kandla.  In 2013, the service came to an end. Deccan charters won 34 regional Indian routes under the UDAN scheme in April 2017.  Under the name of the brand Air Deccan is a new airline that will start flying between Mumbai and Nashik in December 2017. Air Deccan will use Beechcraft 1900D turboprop aircraft with a capacity of 19 passengers on short-haul trips. The airline intends to connect regional towns in the vicinity of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Shillong.


Awards and honors




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