16. February 2007


Date: 16. Feb. 2007
Interviews on the television have off late been injected with much needed blunt demeanor and political incorrectness in the tradition of BBC's groundbreaking, `Hard Talk.' In fact, it was in of those `inspired' shows on an Indian news channel that Kingfisher Airlines chairman and CEO, Vijay Mallya fielded a quick fire round of questions that ranged from the searching to rank provoking and did it with some candour.
The self-styled prophet of doom that was his interviewer constantly brooded over the figure of losses of Rs 347 crore that the airline had endured in the 18 or so months of operation. The knives were out and the dour critic delighted in the cold red statistic. Mallya, however, stoically stood by his vision of a profitable full service airline, which might take leadership status in 2010.
The division between the veteran industrialist, better known for being the world's second biggest brewer, rather than civil aviator and his detractors is perhaps the crux of the moral behind the debatable rise and fledgling of India's third ever Full Service Carrier (FSC), Kingfisher Airlines. It is the only one to launch in almost eight years, significantly at a time when the only fashionable profile for any start up was low cost.
Right from the time Bangalore-based Kingfisher Airlines launched in May 2005 along with four Airbus A320 aircraft with a hallmark moniker `value carrier' it has inspired an impression of quality, forecasts of uncertainty and ignorant comparisons to Low-Cost Carriers (LCCs). It has also faced down one of the world's most inhospitable economic and infrastructural environments for civil aviation, which cost it the monumental loss mentioned earlier to remain afloat and buoyant about a future. A future that may well see demand continue to rise, more aircraft added, international operations commence across the Atlantic and the cost of fuel to stabilise. While all these factors will play a crucial role in the airline's future, it hasn't chosen to wait to realise these, instead setting about enhancing the value proposition for its passengers who, it feels, have to experience it for the premium they pay above the existing competition, FSC and LCC.
To this end, Kingfisher Airlines was clear about its positioning from the onset and built upon its emphasis on sophistication as it went along and the patronage, albeit initially uncertain, was invariably forthcoming. It was the first ever Indian airline ever to begin operations with new aircraft and even though it began with a single class, a dual cabin configuration with a high-end bent was only inevitable. Kingfisher priced its premium class product Kingfisher First ten per cent above that of rival Jet Airways, raising plenty of eyebrows. Cabin configuration sorted, the airline then placed accent on customer experience both on and outside the aircraft.
By offering home delivery of tickets apart from a simple yet efficient website for online reservations, Kingfisher Airlines made itself accessible to the tech-savvy and those averse to technology. It also introduced a mileage programme, `Miles of Chill Times.' It's most significant innovation to date was the Roving Agent who is enabled to print boarding passes for passengers without check-in luggage, saving them the inconvenience of waiting in queues. It also offered the facility of web check-ins, enabling its passengers to print their boarding passes much before they get to the airport.
The airline also catapulted itself towards becoming far and away the most popular domestic carrier with travel agents by first, increasing the level of commission paid to them initially, to then making history by becoming the only Indian domestic carrier ever to pay commissions on surcharges. Jet Airways, India's largest domestic airline, expects half of its total revenue to come from international operations. Jet is not the only domestic carrier nursing international dreams - Mallya has been pushing for liberalisation on the policy for international flights, which currently requires at least five years of operation on domestic routes although a recent consideration for amending the precondition may change that. Kingfisher Airlines' order for the ultra long haul A340-500 capable of flying non-stop from India to the United States of America is a clear message of its aspiration for international flights. The carrier is also the only one to have placed an order for the world's largest wide bodied aircraft, the A380, with five on order as well as the A350. Currently, the airline has a combined fleet of 22 aircraft. By 2010, Kingfisher Airlines expects its fleet to be augmented to 69 aircraft. Its product and the consistency of delivering haven't gone unnoticed. It became India's only private airline to receive the coveted 'Best New Airline of the Year' Award in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East region from Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA). Kingfisher Airlines has bagged the "Service Excellence for a New Airline" award from Skytrax. More recently, it bagged the Galileo Express TravelWorld Editor's Choice Award. With India's youngest fleet, a slew of innovations and a vision that is not thwarted by short-term financial hemorrhage, who is to argue there won't be more accolades forthcoming.
Source: http://www.expresstravelworld.com


Date: 16. Feb. 2007
Concerned over the booming Aviation industry in India, the American School of Aviation (ASA), a US-based pilot training institute, opened a recruitment centre in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday.
ASA offers two training programmes, an eight-month Kingfisher Airlines Programme (KFA) and a special flying training programme with a 10-month duration period.
Under the KFA programme, ASA India does the psychometric testing for aspiring pilots and sends them to Kingfisher Airlines for an interview. If selected, the candidate will get a substantial scholarship from KFA and also a provisional letter of appointment. The programme costs $46,138.
Under the special flying training programme, students who enroll in the course will be given pilot training at the ASA's school in Atwater, California, supplemented by ground training at the ASA India's Gurgaon facility.
ASA will facilitate the entire process of becoming a commercial pilot from the time a student applies till he or she gets a job with an airline. This programme costs $37,998.
ASA is planning to open 20 more recruitment centres in the country by the end of the year.
Source: http://www.andhracafe.com


Date: 16. Feb. 2007
Air India Express, the low cost airline of Air India, started its Abu Dhabi-Muscat-Mangalore and Mangalore-Abu Dhabi-Muscat service from Thursday. With this, Mangalore is connected to two more locations in West Asia. The city had direct flight only to Dubai when the same airlines started its Mangalore-Dubai tri-weekly service on October 3, 2006.
HISTORIC LANDING: The Air India Express flight from Abu Dhabi that landed at Bajpe Airport on Thursday night.
The flight Boeing 737/800 (Abu Dhabi-Muscat-Mangalore) from Abu Dhabi and via Muscat landed at the Bajpe airport here at 10 p.m. on Thursday. It took off (Mangalore--Abu Dhabi-Muscat) to Abu Dhabi at 11.55 p.m. to reach Muscat later. This flight will operate twice a week on Thursdays and Saturdays.
The flight to Dubai operates on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Abu Dhabi-Muscat flight became the second flight of Air India Express to operate between Mangalore and West Asia. The flight that landed at the Bajpe airport had taken off from Abu Dhabi at 4.10 p.m. (Abu Dhabi time).
B.R. Shetty, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of New Medical Centre Group of Companies that consists of UAE Exchange, Abu Dhabi; Rajesh Sequeira, co-ordinator, Karnataka NRI Forum, UAE; and Sudhir Shetty, general manager, NMC Group of Companies; were among those who landed here in the inaugural flight.
Mr. Shetty told presspersons at the airport that earlier if people from Mangalore were to fly to Abu Dhabi, they had to travel via Mumbai. People had to spend approximately 12 hours to reach Abu Dhabi via Mumbai.
Today, they took only four-and-a-half hours to reach Mangalore from Abu Dhabi. They spent an hour at Muscat. Describing the journey as a great experience, Mr. Sequeira said that people at the aircraft were happy and screamed in joy.
Mr. Vasudeva was present at the airport to receive the passengers of the inaugural flight.
Source: http://www.konkaniworld.com