Founded in 1971 in India, Bird is amongst the largest and most diversified groups of various entities within the industry. Pioneering the Information Technology, Travel & Aviation Services, Hospitality, Automotive, Retail and Education industries, Bird’s footprint spans across India, Europe and Middle East
We seek new heights to elevate our customer experience and deliver with excellence and innovation in every field that we operate.
President & Managing Director - Bird
Chairperson, Bird
Former Executive Director, Bird
Executive Director, Bird
In the backdrop of the early 1970’s, a time when India was at the cusp of modernization and growth, Mr. Vijay Bhatia a young graduate from Ramjas College (Delhi University), decided to pursue his passion for travel which went on to become his chosen path for a very successful career spanning across decades. Born in Lahore, into a middle class family, rooted firmly in principles and strong values, he moved to Delhi together with his parents after they retired from Government service.
Mr. Vijay Bhatia, a man known for his gentle demeanour, delightful sense of humour and his ability to connect with people, started a small travel agency that provided personalised and well researched travel services mostly to local businessmen - the carpet sellers of Banaras, leather manufacturers of Kanpur, garment exporters of Delhi and handicraft makers of Moradabad. His knowledge, expertise, excellent service and business acumen resulted in the dynamic growth of his business in the travel industry. Being a perfectionist at heart, slow and steady was always his guiding principle. His penchant for extensive travel, reading books on myriad subjects and his being social and friendly endeared him to more and more people in the fraternity and family alike.
He was joined by his wife Radha Bhatia in 1973. Together they took their business to greater heights. Leveraging the wave of a rising new dawn in India, they envisioned a unique business strategy that supported the growth of the existing travel and aviation industry by bringing automation and travel technology to India. Amadeus India was thus founded which later continued to pioneer the Indian market for decades. Their exemplary vision was further carried forward by their sons, Dr. Ankur Bhatia and Gaurav Bhatia.
A man of myriad interests, Mr. Vijay Bhatia loves spending time amidst nature and travelling to destinations where he can enjoy tranquillity and nature’s untouched beauty. When not surrounded by the delightful presence of his four grandchildren, Mr Bhatia loves to listen to old Hindi classics, reminiscent of an unforgettable era which he cherishes deeply. Whenever time permits, he loves to warm up with a few strokes off his cricket bat.
Together with their younger son, Gaurav, Mr. & Mrs Bhatia continue to fuel the growth of the travel, aviation and hospitality industry in India, each complementing the strengths of the other to innovate, inspire and lead Bird Group to be one of the largest business conglomerates in the country. Driven by a deep sense of service, ethics and care towards the industry and society at large, the family continues to build a wonderful legacy.
Mrs. Radha Bhatia was born in 1946 in Lahore. An alumni of Sophia School, Meerut, where she also later taught for four years, she holds a Master’s Degree in Psychology from Allahabad University.
She has successfully played the roles of a doting wife, mother and grandmother with exceptional courage, commitment and dedication. A strong advocate of the belief that ‘Nothing is impossible, if you have faith in your own self, even the unimaginable can be achieved.’ A force to reckon with, she overcame several challenges in her personal and professional life fearlessly.
Being an entrepreneur is in her DNA. Starting with pioneering IT enabled services in the country, over the last 5 decades she has successfully steered the unparallelled growth and expansion of Bird Group, which today is amongst the largest and most diversified group of various entities in the Indian industry. With a footprint across the Indian Sub-Continent, Europe and Middle East, Bird Group’s core business includes Information Technology, Travel & Aviation Services, Hospitality, Automotives, Retail and Education.
She was one of the first few entrepreneurs who bought foreign investment into India. In 1998 Late Prime Minister, Shri. Atal Bihari Vajpayee conferred the prestigious award The Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur of the Year on Mrs Bhatia.
With a strong desire to give back to society, she established an NGO, Bird Education Society for Travel and Tourism, that is committed towards bridging the gender gap by providing free education to girls in the field of travel, tourism & hospitality. Many of them have today reached great heights in their careers.
Mrs Bhatia was a founding member of the World Travel and Tourism Council India Initiative, and the Founder & Chairperson of the CII-IWN (Indian Women Network) Delhi Chapter. She also served as Vice Chairperson of the Export Software Council. In 2003 she was appointed as the first Indian woman to hold a prestigious diplomatic position as Honorary Consul of Solomon Islands.
She is the Founder, President of Women In Aviation India, a non-profit organisation founded in 2015 dedicated to inspiring the next generation and show them the glorious path in their career and life.
A woman of myriad interests, she authored an award winning book Lassis of India-Smoothies With a Twist a repertoire of traditional Indian recipes passed from her past generations to the next. She nurtures many hobbies which include cooking painting playing the Sitar. Looking ahead she is working on an ambitious project of establishing a University that offers world class travel aviation and hospitality education to students from India and across the world.
A prolific leader, true visionary and a wonderful human being that made a significant and growing contribution to the company and industry at large. Dr. Bhatia shaped and implemented blue ocean strategies that strengthen the overall brand proposition for building uncontested market leadership. An alumnus of King's College, University of London, Dr. Bhatia was the pioneer of automation of airline reservations in India.
He brought the Amadeus brand to the Indian sub-continent in the year 1994, which today provides travel technology for travel agents & airlines and is the market leader. Amadeus celebrated 25 successful years of operations in India in the year 2019.
He contributed immensely in setting up the initial IT set up for Reservation Data Maintenance (India), an IT enabled software development and service support company for managing back-end airline operations and inventory control. RDM was the first Indian BPO, which was established in 1992 and today has an enviable list of airline clients in its portfolio.
Bird’s IT services and R&D foray with Bird Information Systems (BIS) serves to provide technology and solutions to various airlines. Also, to his credit is BirdRes, a B2B distribution channel that allows the travel industry players to effectively manage all aspects of their content and payment needs in a flexible and easy to use solution. He also opened an IT Solutions & Services company in Dubai, Bird Technologies FZ LLC. Armed with in-depth understanding and thriving on extensive knowledge of the travel market as well as decades of experience in the service Industry, Dr. Bhatia spearheaded the growth for the Group in the hospitality sector under Bird Hospitality Services, to set new standards and world-class hospitality assets through Roseate Hotels & Resorts. Today the Group owns and operates six uber luxury properties in India and the UK, each having an individual brand identity. He is amongst a few in India who have created an indigenous hospitality brand and within a few years raised it to greater heights and international standards. He is also credited to have launched the country’s first natural and perennial indoor ice-skating – ISKATE by Roseate, located in Ambience Mall, Gurugram.
A true entrepreneur and a visionary at heart and having identified the need for clean and greener Delhi, with Bird Electric Dr. Bhatia guided the company into redefining the future of personal transportation. Bird was the first to have brought eco-friendly, zero-emissions and energy-efficient Segway PT amongst others to the Indian market and has been constantly adding unique new age mobility vehicles to the product portfolio of Bird Electric. In 2017, Dr. Bhatia established BirdApps, which is an on-demand market place for the travel, hospitality and lifestyle sectors.
Dr. Bhatia had the credibility of being a trusted commentator on India’s Aviation and Tourism industry. He actively sat on committees of various industry bodies and was a member of CII’s National Committee on Aviation, Infrastructure and Luxury Retail. He had served from 2006 - 2007 as the youngest elected Chairman for the Delhi State Council for Confederation of Indian Industries. Dr. Bhatia was also a very active member of (the) World Economic Forum in India. For his outstanding contribution to the travel, tourism and hospitality industry, he and the various business verticals under his patronage have been felicitated with prestigious awards and accolades over the past many years. Dr. Bhatia was conferred upon with the title of Honorary Consulate General of the Republic of Liberia in India, by Her Excellency the President of the Republic of Liberia. In September 2016, he was awarded with an honorary Doctorate of Excellence recognizing Dr. Bhatia for his success in his established field. A firm practitioner of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), he had institutionalized the concept of caring and giving at Bird Group. Dr. Bhatia has been affiliated with the non-profit charitable organization Sukarya which strives to improve the health and wellbeing of members of marginalized societies by providing free health services.He was also a contributor and sponsor of many charitable events such as the Blind Relief Association, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Concern India.
Mr. Gaurav Bhatia plays a vital role in providing strategic direction to the dynamically evolving business verticals at Bird. An alumnus of the prestigious Modern School, Vasant Vihar, he has a degree in Business Management from the University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom. The young scion of the Bhatia family joined the business at the turn of the century in early 2000, a time when the aviation industry was at the cusp of unprecedented growth and evolution.
Under his leadership, Bird today is India's leading aviation services provider, operating out of 21 airports in India, offering the most comprehensive portfolio of aviation services that include ground handling, MRO & FBO, logistics and cargo, that conform to the highest standards of quality, safety, reliability and sustainability. The portfolio also includes airport lounges offering immaculate service and hospitality at key airports.
As part of his strategic vision to cater to the burgeoning aviation industry in India, Bird Delhi General Aviation offering world class FBO & MRO services, delivered ‘India’s First General Aviation Terminal’ at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi which has a new apron spread over 80,00,000 sq ft. area and has 57 dedicated aircraft parking bays.
Bird Foods, founded by Mr Gaurav Bhatia, is a part of the retail vertical of Bird Group. Bird Foods proudly serves a loyal customer base in cities like Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Dehradun, Raipur, Bhubaneswar, Lucknow, and Calicut, with a strong presence in major malls, airports and high streets and is set for a major retail expansion. The company aims to reach 100 outlets in 2-3 years focusing on malls and high streets in metros, tier 2 & 3 cities, driven by strong demand for QSR formats. A central commissary in Gurugram supports preparation and supply across all Bird Foods outlets across Delhi NCR, ensuring standardized preparation, consistent taste, and efficient quality control.
Under his leadership, Bird Travels, the bedrock of Bird Group has grown exponentially representing more than 40 international airlines, leisure & lifestyle brands exclusively in India and the hospitality vertical too continues to expand its footprint in India and Europe.
Driven by his astute passion for automobiles, Mr. Bhatia also founded the Bird Automotive Group that leverages decades of industry knowledge and partnerships through authorised dealership of iconic brands like Bentley, Porsche, BMW, MINI and Citroën, delivering premium mobility solutions and prioritizing customer satisfaction at every step.
For many, success comes from mastering their field. For us, true success comes from looking beyond it. At Bird we're not driven by our competition, or fighting for a place at centre stage. Instead, we're inspired by opportunity - in all its forms. The opportunity to grow in new markets, with new partners. Create new experiences on a customer's journey. Develop new solutions that inspire new directions.
For many, success comes from mastering their field. For us, true success comes from looking beyond it. At the Bird Group we're not driven by our competition, Or fighting for a place at centre stage. Instead, we're inspired by opportunity - in all its forms. The opportunity to grow in new markets, with new partners. Create new experiences on a customer's journey. Develop new solutions that inspire new directions.
We never venture without integrity and intention. We bring innovation to every sector we operate in, Raising its standards both for our clients today, And for the clients we'll evolve to serve tomorrow. This is the benchmark we set ourselves. We match our ambition with rigour, Our experimentation with expertise, Our diversification with consideration. It's a way of approaching business that unites every vertical, And every individual in the Bird family. From aviation to hospitality to retail to education to tech and beyond. It's why we've grown for 50 years, And why we'll continue growing for 50 more. Why each one of us is always seeking opportunities to go further. To reach higher.
To always seek, is to forever soar
At Bird, we bring excellence and innovation to every sector we operate in, ensuring that we create and add value not just for us, but for all stakeholders, partners, clients and guests. We are humbled and grateful for every award, accolade & appreciation. It only inspires to us do even better.
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