Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal eyes aviation segment with LAT Aerospace

Deepinder Goyal, who co-founded food delivery platform Zomato, is now eyeing the regional air travel segment with LAT Aerospace, according to a LinkedIn post by the aerospace startup co-founder Surobhi Das.

Goyal's bet on the aviation venture could redefine regional air travel in India which is at a nascent stage, as uncertainty remains over regulatory clearance, technological capability and public adoption.

"While building Zomato and flying across India, Deepinder and I kept circling back to the same question: Why is regional air travel still so broken - expensive, infrequent and mostly out of reach unless you live in a metro? India has 450 + airstrips - but only 150 see commercial flights. That means nearly two-thirds of our aviation potential is being wasted. Meanwhile, millions in Tier 2 and 3 cities spend hours - sometimes days - traveling by road or rail," Das said in the post.

Outlining the vision behind building LAT Aerospace, Surobhi further stated, "Think buses in the sky -- affordable, high-frequency, and designed to connect the places the airline industry overlooked. Our aircraft will take off and land in compact "air-stops" -- no bigger than a parking lot -- built closer to where people live. "No chaos. No security lines. Just walk in and fly".