Deepak Nangla: Steering Brightsun’s 40-year journey from serving immigrant communities to bespoke luxury travel

(Jul 26, 2026) From delivering travel documents during school holidays to leading Brightsun through its 40th year, Deepak Nangla reflects on a journey that has taken the family business from serving immigrant communities in London to launching Premier by Brightsun, expanding into Ireland, UAE and India, building partnerships with leading airlines, hotels and travel providers across more than 21 countries, and earning the King’s Award for Enterprise 2025.

Deepak Nangla grew up watching a family business take shape long before he became its Managing Director. During school summer holidays, while most children were on break, he travelled across London delivering airline tickets and travel documents to customers. Back then, bookings were made manually, and every itinerary passed through human hands. Those errands gave him a front-row seat to the workings of the travel industry and an early lesson in customer service, years before he formally joined the company.

Today, as Brightsun Travel celebrates 40 years in business, the company has little in common with the modest operation that began in 1986. Founded by his parents in a small Soho office with just three employees and a single typewriter, Brightsun was established to serve London’s growing immigrant communities, helping families travel home to countries including India, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, the Philippines and Brazil.

Four decades later, it has evolved into a multi-million-pound global travel group with more than 400 employees, and teams across the UK, Ireland, UAE and India, trade partnerships across more than 21 countries, and a luxury travel division, Premier by Brightsun, serving high-net-worth individuals and corporate clients. The journey has been recognised with numerous industry honours over the years, culminating in the King’s Award for Enterprise 2025, one of the United Kingdom’s highest accolades for business.

For Nangla, however, the anniversary is not just about milestones. It is the continuation of a story that began long before he entered the boardroom.

Growing up between India and Britain

Born in the UK, Deepak Nangla spent the first seven years of his life in India, where he and his sister were raised by their grandparents while their parents worked tirelessly to establish Brightsun in London. As the eldest of three children, he grew up in a close-knit family where responsibility came early, and values were deeply rooted.

“I was surrounded by the love and support of my grandparents, my mamaji and mami,” he recalls. “Hard work, honesty, respect for elders and the importance of education were values deeply ingrained in me from an early age.”

His parents could visit only twice a year, but those years shaped his character. Returning to London meant adjusting from a bustling joint family to a much smaller household where everyone shared responsibilities. “Even the smallest chores had to be shared,” he says. “It taught me that if contribution is not shared equally in a unit, the result is often a failure.”The move also exposed him to one of the world’s most multicultural cities. While London broadened his outlook, India remained central to his identity.

Meeting people from every continent gave me the confidence to think beyond geographical and cultural boundaries. At the same time, my love for India and its culture gave me a sense of belonging.

Deepak Nangla

That blend of Indian values and global exposure would later shape the way he approached business.

Learning the business one delivery at a time

Although Brightsun was founded by his parents, joining the business was never assumed. Nangla remembers being given a choice after completing his studies: build a career in an established organisation or become “the master of your own destiny.”

By then, Brightsun had already become part of his life. Every summer holiday, he spent time at the office, delivering airline tickets and travel documents to customers across London while quietly observing how reservations were made in the days before online bookings. It was an education that no classroom could provide.

Those experiences also gave him an appreciation for the trust customers placed in the company. Brightsun was not simply selling flights; it was helping families reunite across continents. Founded to make long-distance travel more accessible for immigrant communities, the company built its reputation through personalised service and word-of-mouth recommendations. That customer-first philosophy would remain unchanged even as the business diversified.

Bringing an engineer’s mind to a family business

Nangla’s academic path was far removed from tourism. He earned a BEng (Hons) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from City St George’s, University of London, before completing an MSc in Control Systems at Imperial College London.

But the analytical thinking that engineering demanded would prove invaluable. “When I joined the business, the internet was beginning to find its feet,” he says. “The business needed to transition from manual processes and take advantage of IT systems and the opportunities the internet offered.”

Rather than viewing Brightsun as a traditional travel agency, he saw an opportunity to modernise it. Engineering, he believes, taught him to think systematically, solve problems logically and continuously improve processes. Those principles helped transform Brightsun from a business dependent on manual bookings into one embracing digital platforms, automation, API integrations, data analytics and, more recently, artificial intelligence.

“Our vision had to be clear,” he says. “To make travel easier, more accessible and more customer-centric.”

Keeping people at the heart of travel

Travel has changed dramatically since Brightsun’s early days of paper tickets and handwritten bookings. Customers now expect instant confirmations, personalised recommendations and seamless digital experiences. Yet Nangla believes technology should strengthen relationships rather than replace them.

Technology is a necessity, but it must be governed by human principles. Customers want convenience and speed, but they also value reassurance, expertise and empathy, particularly when dealing with complex travel plans.

Deepak Nangla

That philosophy has guided Brightsun’s digital transformation. Automation has removed friction from the booking process, while travel consultants continue to provide the personal guidance that algorithms cannot replicate. It is an approach that has allowed Brightsun to grow far beyond its original niche.

What began as a travel company serving immigrant families gradually expanded into airline consolidations, leisure holidays, corporate travel, digital travel technology and premium services. Today, the company serves customers across multiple nationalities and markets while remaining rooted in the values on which it was founded: trust, service and innovation.

“Despite the scale we have achieved today,” Nangla says, “our core philosophy remains unchanged: put customers first and continue to innovate.”

Weathering the storm and emerging stronger

If the internet transformed the travel industry once, the Covid-19 pandemic tested it like never before. Almost overnight, planes were grounded, borders closed, and one of the world’s most interconnected industries came to a standstill. For Brightsun, whose business had been built on connecting people across continents, it was the toughest chapter in its 40-year history.

The pandemic was undoubtedly the most challenging period I have experienced in business. My immediate focus was on supporting our customers, protecting our employees and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the business.

Deepak Nangla

Rather than waiting for travel to return, Brightsun used the disruption to strengthen its technology platforms, streamline internal processes and prepare for recovery. “Leadership requires resilience, transparency and adaptability,” he reflects. “Looking back, the experience made us stronger and more resilient as an organisation.”

The strategy paid off. As international travel rebounded, Brightsun emerged not just as a survivor but as a business ready for its next phase of growth.

From affordable flights to bespoke luxury journeys

Perhaps the clearest measure of Brightsun’s evolution is Premier by Brightsun, the group’s luxury travel brand.

The contrast is striking. A company founded to help immigrant families find affordable flights home now curates bespoke travel experiences for high-net-worth individuals, corporate leaders and discerning leisure travellers.

Premier by Brightsun offers tailor-made holidays, premium flight bookings, private jet charters, chauffeur-driven transfers, luxury accommodation, executive travel management and concierge-level services, with every itinerary designed around individual preferences. Whether arranging a private island escape or managing complex international business travel, the emphasis remains on meticulous planning and personalised service.

For Nangla, however, luxury is not simply about exclusivity. “Travel is not simply about reaching a destination,” he says. “It is about the overall experience.”

He believes affluent travellers seek privacy, seamless execution and exceptional service, but they still expect value for money. Delivering that experience depends not only on strong relationships with airlines, hotels and travel partners, but also on understanding each client’s needs. That philosophy reflects Brightsun’s own journey. While its clientele has expanded dramatically over four decades, its commitment to personalised service has remained constant.

A King’s Award and a homecoming of sorts

Over the years, Brightsun has received several industry accolades, but the King’s Award for Enterprise 2025 stands apart. One of the United Kingdom’s most prestigious honours for business, it recognised four decades of entrepreneurship, innovation and customer service that began with a modest family enterprise in Soho.

Deepak Nangla, at a reception at Windsor Castle, hosted by King Charles III, in celebration of the recipients of the King’s Awards 2025

For Nangla, the award belongs as much to the company’s founders as it does to its present-day leadership. “It reflects the journey our parents started and the incredible team that has helped us build on that foundation,” he says.

The recognition arrived as Brightsun entered another significant chapter—its expansion into India. With the launch of Brightsun India, headquartered in Gurugram, the company has returned to the country that shaped Nangla’s early childhood. The expansion reflects both commercial opportunity and personal significance.

India, he believes, is set to become one of the world’s largest travel markets in the coming decades. Brightsun plans to deepen its presence through technology-driven services while introducing curated experiences, luxury holidays and premium travel products tailored to Indian travellers.

For someone who spent his first seven years in India while his parents built a business in Britain, establishing a strong presence in the country represents a full-circle moment.

Looking ahead to the next forty years

Despite Brightsun’s global footprint, Nangla remains closely connected to India through family, business and culture. He follows the country’s economic and technological progress with interest and credits the Indian diaspora for playing an important role in Brightsun’s early growth.

Brightsun serves customers from diverse nationalities and markets. From the very beginning they along with overseas Indian communities trusted us with their travel needs. Their support provided a strong foundation for growth.

Deepak Nangla

Outside work, Nangla enjoys travelling with family, mentoring young entrepreneurs and keeping abreast of emerging technologies. It is a combination that reflects his own journey—a technologist by training, an entrepreneur by profession and, above all, someone who still sees travel as a way of connecting people.

As Brightsun celebrates its 40th anniversary, its story is one of constant reinvention. It has evolved from a neighbourhood travel agency serving immigrant families into a global travel group, expanded into luxury through Premier by Brightsun, established operations in India and earned one of Britain’s highest business honours. Yet beneath the scale and accolades lies the same purpose that inspired its founders in 1986: helping people stay connected.

For Deepak Nangla, the boy who once spent summer holidays delivering travel documents across London, leading Brightsun into its next chapter is more than a professional achievement. It is the continuation of a family legacy—one built on trust, strengthened by innovation and still guided by the belief that every journey begins with understanding the traveller.

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