I had a chance to use the fly "Air Deccan" when I was in India last year. I decided to write a few lines in the favour of this airline after reading a lot of negative ones.
I had a good time flying this airline on 2 sectors - Bangalore - Bombay / Bombay - Delhi .Their ticket issuing staff was quick and gave me enough information on fares during their busy time of the day. You really need to know what you want, coz it is too difficult to stand there and make a decision. I guess the rule of "dont test my patience to test yours" applies everywhere in India. I knew what I wanted and paid for it and got out of the queue. I had no issues with the check-in staff, would rather say was friendly and helpful. I guess those services are outsourced to a local airport authorities but still are a part of the airline.
The flight had a great take off. A lot of people dont take this in consideration but it gives you confidence of the flight you are going to be in. After flying a lot in life, I do get a feel of what sort of experience am I going to get. I can see a lot of people complaining about the airline, but I believe that this airline never promised a 6 star service anyway. As the saying in hindi is so true, ’ Mehnga roye ek baar, sasta roye baar baar’. I followed this and bought the tix of this airline. I was prepared to cry and in any mis-hap, I knew I wasnt going to get a royal treatment. If you need the best service, then fly kingfisher or jet airways, pay more and they will treat you well. I believe Air deccan is quite a good alternative to going by trains or buses. I got there in time and was served good enough snack at a very reasonable price.
I would recommend this airline if you have some extra time on your hand to wherever you are going, but not for corporate or business meetings. There is a good chance of any airline getting cancelled and happens in every part of the world. Learn to live with it and plan your travelling very carefully and mindfully.
The flights I took were jam packed and I read an article about them being the 2nd biggest airline in India after Jet Airways. I am sure they are doing someting right.
Cheers
Yash