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SPICEJET ||||| INSIDER<br />
SUPERMAN OF OUR SKIES<br />
With his sharp sense of humour and original banter, Captain Danny Desai wins the hearts of SpiceJet<br />
passengers every time he makes an announcement on his flights.<br />
BY NEHA SHARMA (WITH INPUTS FROM SUDIPTA DAS)<br />
Capt. Danny Desai<br />
THE WORLD IS FULL OF COLOURFUL<br />
AND HAPPY FACES, but not all of them<br />
are featured in magazines – even though<br />
they should. My colleague and I had<br />
the good fortune of meeting one such<br />
amazing personality, who, despite being<br />
enormously versatile and enchanting, has<br />
chosen to stay away from the limelight.<br />
As we waited impatiently in a big<br />
boardroom, an anticipated image started<br />
taking shape in my head, and as I sifted<br />
through my preparatory notes, time<br />
seemed to stand still. The long awaited<br />
moment came as our teetotaller subject<br />
entered the room like "a whiff of fresh<br />
air", as described aptly by one of his<br />
passengers. There is an unmistakeable<br />
element of charm in the way he carries<br />
himself.<br />
Captain Danny Desai was born on<br />
June 10, 1959, the son of Subhash Desai,<br />
producer of well-known films such as<br />
Amar Akbar Anthony and Dharam Veer.<br />
Considering his lineage, it was expected<br />
that Capt. Desai would join the film<br />
industry. As such, he became an assistant<br />
director and then a director of special<br />
cinematic effects and worked on several<br />
award-winning and prestigious projects.<br />
But, his heart lay elsewhere – flying. His<br />
father strongly disagreed, but given Capt.<br />
Desai’s eloquence and self-belief, he was<br />
successful in convincing him to allow him<br />
to pursue his passion. At the age of 21,<br />
he started flying his beloved birds – his<br />
“oversized cigars”, as he lovingly calls<br />
them. He began his stint with Vayudoot<br />
in 1985 and then flew with East-West<br />
Airlines, Skyline NEPC, Sahara Airlines<br />
and JetLite to finally land in SpiceJet in<br />
February 2016.<br />
Although Capt. Desai stayed away<br />
from the glamour of cinema, his life<br />
has been no less filmy. He fell in love at<br />
first sight with the woman who would<br />
become his wife, Mrs. Kashmira Danny<br />
Desai. He shares his passion for flying<br />
with his sons as well – Captain Aleck<br />
Danny Desai and Mr. Jim Danny Desai.<br />
At SpiceJet, he has set high standards<br />
of perfection and sophistication, be it<br />
with his communication or technical<br />
knowledge. His unmatched articulation,<br />
voice modulation and excellent English<br />
can safely be attributed to his semi-Parsi<br />
upbringing; his mother, Chanden Subhash<br />
Desai, was a Parsi.<br />
As per all the feedback we’ve<br />
received, he hypnotises passengers<br />
in the manner in which he delivers<br />
minute-by-minute details of flight delays<br />
and announcements. All the panic<br />
and anguish with them dissolves with<br />
his sweet manner of addressing. The<br />
emotional quotient in his words creates<br />
a magical web of feelings. Taking after<br />
his mother, he is a true reflection of<br />
sophistication and poise, be it the words<br />
he chooses or his manners. It is hard<br />
to miss that unique accent once you<br />
have been subjected to it. The endless<br />
appreciation notes from his happy<br />
passengers say it all for him.<br />
“INFORMATION IN A<br />
LANGUAGE THAT SOUNDS<br />
LIKE POETRY.”<br />
“SAVOURY TANG OF<br />
HUMOUR AND SPICY WIT.”<br />
“PERFECT VOICE MODULATION<br />
AND JUST THE PERFECT PAUSE<br />
AT THE PERFECT TIME.”<br />
“EXCELLENT ENGLISH<br />
HUMOUR.”<br />
“LET DESAI BE THE MIDDLE<br />
NAME, AND THE SURNAME BE<br />
GAB-FABULOUS.”<br />
138 ||||| DECEMBER 2016
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