Coimbatore Doctor's Experiance
The southern city has got what many in the metros have desired: a pair of wings to beat the traffic. Ask Dr David Rajan, who would have missed his 10.15am flight to Coimbatore from the new airport at Devanahalli had he taken the road. At 8.50am, the sports medicine specialist and his assistant Kandaswamy were still in Electronics City, a good 66km and a three-hour road ride away.But the 43-year-old doctor from Coimbatore, who was in Bangalore to carry out an emergency operation this morning, knew he would make it in time as he had booked himself on Skylimo, a first-of-its kind helicopter shuttle service in India between locations within a metro. The first commercial flight of the service lifted off today. A similar service was planned in Mumbai but it never took off. Other cities have chartered chopper services but for rides to nearby towns.
For starters, the Bangalore service, launched by Deccan Aviation — which pioneered low-cost flying in India — is being offered from Electronics City to the new BIAL airport. Electronics City is a hub of IT and multinational companies with several super-speciality hospitals in the vicinity, whom Deccan Aviation wants to target as potential heli-hoppers.
By road, the distance to the airport takes anywhere between two-and-a-half hours and three hours if there is free passage. For software clients and top CEOs used to returning to base the same night or even taking a connecting international flight, the commute time is something they can ill afford. What they can afford is the Skylimo at Rs 5,800 per passenger for a one-way flight.
