Can cheap seats come with extra legroom? We ask the man behind India’s first budget airline

Daybreak

Every time you take a domestic flight and don't have to break a fixed deposit to buy a ticket, you have Captain GR Gopinath to thank. In 2003, he launched Air Deccan, India's first budget airline. Before that, only the rich and powerful could afford to fly. So, planes were like mini 5-star hotels – you would be waited on hand and foot, would have access to luxurious lounges, get served gourmet food. And of course, it came with an outrageous price tag to match.

With Air Deccan, flying was finally democratised. And soon enough, others followed. Everyone wanted to copy the Air Deccan playbook.

Cut to now. The only successful airline in India at the moment have followed the budget route, with Indigo as the market leader. On the surface, things look great. India is home to the third largest domestic aviation market by volume. Domestic passenger numbers have more than doubled in the last decade. In June alone, more than 13 million people flew domestically.

But if everything is going right behind the scenes? Then why is the flying experience getting so bad?

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