Those who know Rahul and his father Kapil Bhatia closely say that they originally hail from Basti Harphool Singh in Sadar Bazaar, Delhi. Their first office was also in Sadar Bazaar, where the father and son sold airline tickets. However, they soon realized that to expand their airline business, they needed an office in a better location. So, they opened an office in P Block of Connaught Place. After that, they never looked back. Harshvardhan, the founder chairman of Vayudoot Airlines, says that Rahul Bhatia succeeded because he made the right decisions at the right time. However, he also says that Bhatia has shot himself in the foot and that the coming times will not be easy for him. In Connaught Place's 'P' Block, you can still find many showrooms and their employees who remember seeing Rahul Bhatia coming and going from his father Kapil Bhatia's travel agency, 'Delhi Express'. The Delhi Express office was located near the now-closed Madras Hotel. This was during the 1980s and 1990s. Rahul Bhatia was studying in Canada at the time. When he visited Delhi, he would also spend time at the office. In those days, only a select few in the country traveled by air. Delhi Express was doing reasonably well. It was an agent for several international airlines, essentially booking tickets only for those airlines. After economic liberalizations, the country's aviation sector began to transform. Meanwhile, Rahul had returned from Canada and was now fully involved in helping his father with the business. Rahul Bhatia had returned from Canada with a management degree. He wasn't satisfied with the growth of his travel agency. He wanted to take a big leap. Around this time, the Bhatia family sold their "Delhi Express" business to their partner and started a new venture called "InterGlobe Travel Agency." This new business began to flourish. Meanwhile, in 1993, the government started issuing licenses for private airlines in the country. This led to the launch of airlines like Deccan Aviation and Jet Airways. Rahul Bhatia was observing all of this. He too harbored the ambition of starting his own airline in India. Rajji Rai, a neighbor of the Bhatia family in Connaught Place, says that Rahul Bhatia was very ambitious. Rahul spoke to his friend Rakesh Gangwal, who lived in the US, about starting a new airline. The two worked on their plan. Rakesh was an expert in finance. Their time finally came in 2006, when they launched IndiGo Airlines. Rahul Bhatia's partner, Rakesh Gangwal, sold his stake in IndiGo some time ago. This means Rahul is now the sole owner of IndiGo. An aviation sector experts and chartered accountants, has known Rahul since he operated from Connaught Place. They says that IndiGo's recent crisis has severely damaged its image. Now it will have to face the government's scrutiny. Rahul Bhatia will have to answer for the damage his airline's actions have caused to the image of India's aviation sector. They are surprised that Bhatia hasn't said anything publicly or apologized to the passengers.