Air Deccan to fly 4mn passengers in FY06

Air Deccan is planning to fly over four million passengers in the next financial year - four times more than the one million people it has flown since inception 18 months ago.

This was announced by G R Gopinath, MD of Air Deccan, after launching the service of bookings at select HPCL outlets.

The Bangalore-based Air Deccan now flies 18 aircraft on 106 routes daily, and is planning to add 100 flights every year over the next five years.

"Nearly 40% of Air Deccan passengers on any flight are first-time flyers who have bought tickets at lower rates than conventional carriers," Gopinath said.

S.P. Chaudhary, director (retail) of HPCL, said petrol station owners will earn 5% commission for selling Air Deccan tickets.