zomato-founder-eyes-regional-air-travel-with-lat-aerospace

In a significant departure from his food delivery platform, Zomato co-founder and CEO, Deepinder Goyal, has invested $20 million in LAT Aerospace, a start-up that is focused on building low-cost 24-seater short take-off and landing (STOL) passenger aircraft.

Goyal is eyeing regional air travel segment, untapped hitherto, with his new venture in which he has partnered with Surobhi Das.

 
“While building Zomato and flying across India, Deepinder and I kept circling back to the same question: Why is regional air travel still so broken - expensive, infrequent and mostly out of reach unless you live in a metro? India has 450 + airstrips - but only 150 see commercial flights. That means nearly two-thirds of our aviation potential is being wasted. Meanwhile, millions in Tier 2 and 3 cities spend hours - sometimes days - traveling by road or rail,” Das said in the post.

Outlining the vision behind building LAT Aerospace, Surobhi further stated, “Think buses in the sky – affordable, high-frequency, a nd designed to connect the places the airline industry overlooked. Our aircraft will take off and land in compact ‘air-stops’ – no bigger than a parking lot – built closer to where people live. No chaos. No security lines. Just walk in and fly”. 

 

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But, a foray into regional air travel sector is not as hunky dory as it sounds – with strict regulatory clearances, technical challenges, funding constraints to consider. 

Goyal’s start-up will also challenge Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) 19-seater Hindustan 228 aircraft and the National Aerospace Laboratories’ (NAL) Saras MK II, both under development. With the government-backed HAL being a key player in the Centre’s UDAN scheme, Goyal has an uphill climb ahead of him.

LAT Aerospace’s STOL aircraft are made for inter-city routes, ranging up to 1,500 km. Muktsar-born Goyal, who has a knack for scaling businesses, could outdo competition with an edge in innovation, marketing, and cost-efficiency, areas that public sector projects often stumble.