Deccan Changes into Kingfisher Red

Deccan, the legendary low cost airline brand will now be known as Kingfisher Red. Captain GR Gopinath its gutsy founder told that he tried hard but had to concede to chairman Vijay Mallya's wish of converting the blue into Kingfisher Red!

Now, the airline will also replace its blue signature colour with red. The airline will also be operating under the flight code IT instead of the current DN.

Captain Gopinath had led a valiant effort to retain Brand Deccan as the low cost arm of Kingfisher Airline after Mallya bought over the airline last year.

His contention was that Deccan was a well recognised brand in the low cost segment and told that he has now conceded to the end of Brand Deccan as he did not want any in-fighting in the company.

Captain GR Gopinath, Vice-Chiarman, Kingfisher Airlines, said, "Its a very emotional time for me. I don't like it, but I will support Dr Mallya in his decision to avoid controversy". While the merged company will be called Deccan Aviation that is currently entitled to fly abroad, the brand will be Kingfisher.

Kingfisher will house both- the low cost and full fare service. The companys name is likely to be changed to Kingfisher once all legal formalities are completed, possibly by the end of the month. But capt Gopinath says - even as the name changes, the low cost model should continue.

Capt Gopinath, added, "The low cost model will continue to be key to the Indian aviation market to stimulate its mass and growth". Even as Captain Gopinath surrenders his iconic brand Air Deccan to Kingfisher Red, he maintains that this was not the last that we've heard of brand deccan as he plans to retain the deccan branding for his helicopter, air cargo and budget hotel businesses.