ou�ll know it�s a no-frills airline if the captain asks all the passengers to chip in for gas. That�s a gag Captain Gopinath, founder and managing director of Air Deccan, India�s first and only no-frills airline, probably won�t enjoy. "There are no cost cutting measures," he says. "Everything we do is with an eye on optimising the efficiencies of every aspect of our business."

Come July, the airline, which currently flies to all major destinations in south India, will launch flights between Delhi, Mum-bai, Bangalore, Hydera-bad and Chennai. The fares will be 40-50 per cent less than the existing levels. The airline is acquiring three Airbus A-320s next month, and the 180-seaters will be fully economy class. (Deccan already has six ATR-42s.) That�s the first phase. In the second, the airline will acquire more aircrafts and spread its wings to Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Kochi, among other cities. ... more