MAM
ADC World Advertising awarded Air Deccan’s aircraft fleet graphics for branding contract
BANGALORE: Air Deccan’s (AD) Captain Gopinath says that his dream is to have people fly for free, and hopes that one day ancillary income would make this possible-this is catering revenue, advertising revenue, other types of income that airlines can generate besides seat charges.
That the aircraft body can be a medium like a billboard was first demonstrated by Goinath’s. airline in India and was one of the initiatives taken by AD in that direction. Today, AD announced in Bangalore that it has awarded the fleet graphics for aircraft branding contract to ADC World Advertising for a period of five years. This means big money potential to the Airline and how.
“We will be flying around 8 million passengers this year – this means 16 million eyeballs.” said Gopinath.
While refusing to disclose the size of the revenues that aircraft branding generates, AD principal sales & marketing officer, Samyukth Sridharan explained “We currently have 19 A380’s and 20 ATR’s. Branding an aircraft is not as simple as it seems. We have to take into account the cost of paints, the additional weight of the paint added and the additional fuel required for that, well taking all these into account, if I were asked to offer a single aircraft – I’d charge Rs 1 million a month for an A380 and half that amount for an ATR, do the math yourself, and this is just the outside of the aircraft.”.
Gopinath and his team are looking at all avenues for generating ancillary revenues and growing them from the current 9% to between 25-30% of annual revenues over the next three years. They are looking at web-enabled insurance, excess baggage, which currently brings them around Rs.35-36 per passenger on a average, in-flight shopping, and in-flight catering.
“I think in-flight sales on Air Deccan contribute about 12% to Café Coffee Day’s present revenues,” informed Sidharan.. AD receives around 24,000 calls daily for bookings. At the end of the call, our people offer ICIC credit cards or loans, this too will help generate ancillary income for us,” he added.
Brands
YES Bank hands the keys to SBI veteran Vinay Tonse as it bets on a new era
Former SBI managing director appointed as YES Bank’s new MD and CEO
MUMBAI: YES Bank is done rebuilding. Now it wants to grow. The private sector lender has appointed Vinay Muralidhar Tonse as managing director and chief executive officer-designate, with RBI approval secured and a start date of April 6, 2026 confirmed. The three-year term signals the bank’s intent to shift gears from crisis recovery to full-throttle expansion.
Tonse, 60, is no stranger to scale. Most recently managing director at State Bank of India, he oversaw a retail book of roughly $800bn in deposits and advances, one of the largest in the country. Before that, he ran SBI Mutual Fund from August 2020 to December 2022, a stint that saw assets under management surge from Rs 4.32 lakh crore to Rs 7.32 lakh crore across market cycles. Add stints in Singapore and four years leading SBI’s overseas operations in Osaka, and the incoming chief arrives with a genuinely global CV.
His academic grounding is equally solid: a commerce degree from St Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bengaluru, and a master’s in commerce from Bangalore University.
The appointment follows an extensive search and evaluation process by the bank’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee. NRC chairperson Nandita Gurjar said the committee unanimously backed Tonse, citing his leadership track record, governance credentials and ability to drive the bank’s next phase of transformation.
Non-executive chairman Rama Subramaniam Gandhi was unequivocal. “I am certain that Vinay Tonse, with his vast experience as a senior banker, will propel YES Bank to its next phase of growth,” Gandhi said, adding that the bank remains focused on strengthening its retail and corporate banking franchises and expanding its branch network.
Rajeev Kannan, non-executive director and senior executive at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the bank’s largest shareholder, said Tonse’s experience across retail, corporate banking, global markets and asset management positioned him well to lead the lender. SMBC said it looks forward to working with Tonse and the board as YES Bank pursues its ambition of becoming a top-tier private sector lender anchored in strong governance and sustainable growth.
Tonse succeeds Prashant Kumar, who took the helm in March 2020 when YES Bank was in freefall following a severe financial crisis, and spent six years painstakingly stabilising the institution, rebuilding governance and restoring operational scale. Gandhi was generous: “The bank remains indebted to Prashant Kumar, who is responsible for much of what a strong financial powerhouse YES Bank is today.”
Tonse, for his part, struck a purposeful note. “Together with the board and my colleagues, I remain deeply committed to creating long-term value for all our stakeholders,” he said, pledging to build on Kumar’s foundation guided by his personal motto: Make A Difference.
Beyond the balance sheet, Tonse played cricket at college and club level and represented Karnataka in archery at the national championships — sports he credits with teaching him teamwork, situational leadership, discipline and focus. In quieter moments, he reaches for retro Kannada music, classic Hindi songs, and the crooning of Engelbert Humperdinck, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar.
YES Bank has its steady-handed rebuilder in Kumar to thank for survival. Now it has a scale-obsessed growth banker at the wheel. The next chapter starts April 6.
