25. January 2007


Date: 25. Jan. 2007
Following top level meetings at Air India Express headquarters in Mumbai, the officials have informed us that they have changed their flight schedule and will now be flying the first flight to Mangalore from Muscat and Abu Dhabi on March 1st 2007, BUT if everything goes positively, then they may prepone the maiden flight to February 24, 2007.
Timings and Aircraft Movement
Days of flight operations will remain the same – Thursdays and Saturdays.
The assigned AI aircraft for the said maiden flight on Thursday, March 1st 2007 will fly the following sectors: Trivandrum – Abu Dhabi – Muscat – Mangalore – Abu Dhabi - Muscat – Trivandrum.
The tentative timings-
Departure from Mangalore: 00:01 hrs (midnight). This gives more than a three hour gap to the Mangalore Airport Immigration as the Dubai flight takes off at 9 pm from Mangalore. (Other related flight timings will be confirmed by AI Express shortly).
According to AI officials, four new Boeing 737-800NG Aircrafts have been delivered to Air India Express, presently parked at Mumbai terminal. AI has already recruited many foreign Flight Commanders and right now they are short of First Officers, but the process of recruiting more first officers is on. As Mangalore Airport is categorized as a table top airport, the pilots who are operating this sector have to do the test flights landing and take off in order to get certified prior to operating a commercial flight to Mangalore. For this reason, AI Express has already flown a certain number of Captains to Mangalore Airport to be certified.
Changes in flight schedules
The dates given to us first hand by Air India Express have been shifting from March 2007 to January 18th to February 15th and finally back to March 1st 2007, but officials are of the opinion that these changes in flight schedules are very common in the aviation industry due to unforeseen circumstances.
All hurdles facing the flight operations have been outlined in our earlier report dated January 10, 2007, wherein we had clearly stated that the flight will take off subject to certain conditions. The conditions included AI shortage of staff and immigration facilities at Bajpe Airport. While the former has been sorted out to a large extent, the same report also stated that “the airport authorities are working very hard on expanding Immigration facilities to take in more International flights.”
On Line bookings Open
Whether the direct flight from Muscat and Abu Dhabi to Mangalore will take off on March 1st or February 24th, Air India Express headquarters in Mumbai have assured us that the online bookings for either date will be opened within the first week of February.
Let’s hold them to their word and hope for the best.
Updated Information from Mangalore Airport
Team Mangalorean Oman, today, spoke directly to Mr. Vasudevan, the Mangalore Airport Director. He has assured us, that full cooperation will be given by the Mangalore Airport Authority, if Air India Express from Muscat flies into Mangalore anytime from February 24th onwards. He also stated that the Airport Authorities staff is very efficient and cooperative, so they need ONLY a maximum time of 3 hours between each flight to ease out the airport congestion, mainly at the Immigration counters.
Team Mangalorean also contacted Mr. Rao, Station Manager Air India at Bajpe Airport. He confirmed that he has received intimation from AI headquarters Mumbai, regarding the tentative date of the maiden flight being March 1st 2007. He also said that it is unfortunate for Mangaloreans in Muscat and Abu Dhabi that Air India Express will not be able to operate on February 15th 2007 as previously planned by them.
Cochin – Mangalore – Doha – Bahrain sector
Mr. Rao also informed us that the Cochin – Mangalore – Doha – Bahrain and return flight will tentatively commence between March 25th and April 1st 2007 on Tuesdays and Fridays. Since this flight will be touching two Indian domestic sectors, both Cochin and Mangalore have been alloted 50% of the seats each.
Dubai – Mangalore sector
Mr. Rao stated that by March 25th 2007, Air India Express will operate six flights between Dubai and Mangalore on all the days of the week except Tuesdays. Timings will remain the same.
Kuwait – Mangalore sector
Air India Express has recognized the great market potential in the Kuwait – Mangalore sector and they are seriously considering the commencement of this flight by end of April 2007.
Mangalore Airport – Definitely ready for more International flights!!!
Mr. Vasudev, Mr. Rao and other officials at the Bajpe Airport were very upbeat about handling more International flights from the Gulf destinations. As quoted by Mr. Rao, Station Manager Air India, come April 2007, Mangalore Airport will be handling a total of twelve Air India Express International flights per week. Hats off to Mr. Vasudev, Mr. Rao and their team for being so positive and accepting the challenge of handling the additional flights.
Source: http://mangalorean.com


Date: 25 Jan. 2007
Kingfisher Airlines, India’s fastest growing private carrier and the first airline in India to offer a premium first class service on domestic routes, added yet another feather in its cap with the announcement that it has been bestowed the 2006 Customer Responsiveness Award by Avaya Global Connect, a leading converged communication solutions provider in India.
The Customer Responsiveness Awards, being presented by Avaya Global Connect, the company that has been spearheading the movement, are based on evaluations of the Customer Responsiveness policies and practices of leading Indian organizations. Well-known business intelligence firms such as Ernst & Young and AC Nielsen are backing the endeavor as process advisors and research partners, respectively. The organizations that have made it to the final awards listing are the ones that have built awareness about customer responsiveness within their set up and delivered an enhanced customer experience in a consistent manner. The Awards program aims at taking the Customer Responsiveness movement in India to new heights.
Kingfisher Airlines has a dedicated Guest Commitment Team which handles all guest queries and feedback. These are acknowledged and addressed within set timelines. This section is linked to the quality setup and works under the Chairman’s direct guidance to ensure that guest feedback is used to improve service delivery. In addition all guests flying the Good Times with Kingfisher Airlines can directly write to the Chairman & CEO of Kingfisher Airlines Limited Dr. Vijay Mallya.
Commenting on this latest accolade bestowed on Kingfisher Airlines, Dr. Vijay Mallya, Chairman and CEO, Kingfisher Airlines said, “Kingfisher Airlines was set up with the objective of offering air travelers in India and our guests an un-paralleled flying experience backed by superior technology and a commitment to on-time performance. Since its launch, Kingfisher Airlines has constantly and successfully raised the bar of service offering in the domestic skies and has embarked on initiatives aimed at delighting guests. The launch of Kingfisher First and live in-flight entertainment on board our flights are just two instances of offerings that were introduced in response to market needs. This laurel marks yet another milestone in our journey towards reaching the pinnacle of market leadership in a few years from now”.
Dr. Mallya added, “Customer responsiveness is about being fast and right. The value of being right is obvious — customers get something that meets their needs. But the value also depends critically on the speed with which the response is produced. Maximizing performance across the two dimensions constitutes excellent customer responsiveness”.
Responsiveness of organizations was identified and points were allotted to each of the categories. These points were then added up to give the final score of Customer Responsiveness for a company. As a follow up to this in-depth research and to make Customer Responsiveness a coveted badge for companies, Avaya Global Connect instituted the Indian industry’s “Customer Responsiveness Awards”. The Awards concept meanwhile saw light of day when Avaya Global Connect decided to interact with leading global business intelligence firms such as Ernst & Young to create special methodologies and benchmarks for accessing the Customer Responsiveness of companies.
About Kingfisher Airlines
Kingfisher Airlines is India's first and only private airline to receive the prestigious, '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 also been voted as the 3rd Most Successful Brand Launch of the Year 2005, in the annual Brand Derby Survey conducted by India's leading business daily-Business Standard. In another Survey conducted by agencyfaqs.com and Brand Reporter, Kingfisher was voted as the 7th Buzziest Brand of 2005 amongst 2000 leading national and international brands. More recently, Kingfisher Airlines has bagged the "Service Excellence for a New Airline" award from Skytrax, a UK based specialist global air transport advisor.
Another addition to the list of laurels is the "Best New Domestic Airline for Excellent Services and Cuisine" award from Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA), the biggest travel writers' organization, across the globe, that conducts independent annual surveys across various industries related with Travel and Tourism in order to select the best in each category. In a survey conducted by IMB for Times of India, 46% of the participants voted Kingfisher Airlines 'The Best Airline" and "India's Favourite Carrier". Lastly Kingfisher Airlines won the “Brand Leadership Award” in the service and hospitality segment against several acclaimed hotels, leading banks and other airlines. Kingfisher Airlines commenced operations on May 9, 2005 with a brand new fleet of aircraft. Kingfisher Airlines offers Full Service at True Value and promises an unparalleled experience to the Indian air traveler. On offer, are extra-wide seats and spacious leg room, delicious gourmet meals, international-class cabin crew and a whole host of comforts and delights. Kingfisher Airlines also facilitates doorstep delivery of tickets on guest request. Kingfisher Airlines has further raised the bar by introducing the Indian business traveler to a premium product- Kingfisher First, the finest experience in the Indian skies. For more information on Kingfisher Airlines log on to www.flykingfisher.com . Fly the Good Times with Kingfisher Airlines.
About The Awards
Avaya Global Connect, in partnership with The Economic Times, has launched the Customer Responsiveness Awards for the first time in India. The Awards will be presented to organizations that have shown a commitment to Customer Responsiveness and measured high on a stringent evaluation procedure drawn up by leading business intelligence and market research firms in the country.
About the awards methodology
The Awards methodology has been developed and designed by Professor M. Janakiraman of IIM Lucknow, a well known name in the area of business management. Professor Janakiraman created a unique questionnaire for the Awards, which is distributed among participating organizations by AC Nielsen. The survey form, which is self administered by companies, is taken up for evaluation, after which Ernst & Young and a Jury of three eminent persons help draw a shortlist of firms that will go through to the second round. AC Nielsen then administers a second questionnaire for the customers of the organizations short-listed by E&Y. These surveys help measure the organizational readiness of the participating companies to address customer needs. It also brings out the key strengths of organizations and the areas where they need to improve their customer orientation. Finally, it creates an index for companies to plot future strategies for Customer Responsiveness.
In the second stage of the Awards procedure, besides customer interviews, a ‘Reader Poll’ is also announced through The Economic Times, to invite the opinion of the “common man” on the short listed companies. The Economic Times and Professor M. Janakiraman work closely with the tabulators and auditors to measure the performance of companies on parameters such as responsiveness, intelligence generation, intelligence dissemination, customer education, top management emphasis, innovation and learning. At the end of the evaluation, data tabulation and data validation process, a seven-member jury votes on the rankings based on the final score of the company applications, the customer interviews and the Reader Poll.
Source: http://www.businesswireindia.com


Date: 25. Jan. 2007
Police Wednesday said it had busted a Rs.135-million (about $3 million) racket that booked more than 15,000 Kingfisher Airlines tickets on the Internet using fraudulently obtained credit card numbers.
One Ahmed Sheikh has been arrested. He was part of the gang that used to book airline tickets online using credit card numbers obtained from hotels, shopping malls, restaurants and other retail outlets, investigators here said.
The scam came to light after the airlines lodged a complaint with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai police Dec 21 last year, regarding the massive scale on which online tickets were being booked fraudulently. Most of the credit cards used for the transactions were from the ICICI Bank.
"Consumers, whose credit card numbers the gang had got hold of, were stunned after receiving bills of transactions which they never made. As a result, they began complaining to the bank. The complaints swelled between July and November last year," a senior EOW official said Thursday.
"Suspecting fraud, the bank asked the customers not to pay the money they had not actually spent on the tickets and instead charged the amount of Rs.135 million back to Kingfisher Airlines."
"It was then that the airlines lodged a complaint with us, saying 15,255 tickets were fraudulently booked through the net and in each case the gang had used a different credit card number," the EOW official told IANS.
"After receiving complaints from Kingfisher Airlines, we began our investigations and stumbled upon KGN Aviation, a travel agency floated by the gang. The gang had intercepted details of all the 15,225 credit cards from accomplices in various hotels, restaurants, malls and retails outlets."
"They knew the credit card numbers, expiry dates and customer verification value (CVV) numbers - the additional three digits printed on the signature strip on the back of the card," the official said.
"The modus operandi of the gang was to log on to the web sites of leading private airlines that issued email confirmations of bookings. The gang used the details to book tickets online and take printouts of the email confirmations which could be exchanged with boarding passes or tickets," he added.
The members of the gang would then hang around at international air transport association (IATA) offices, restaurants and bars and befriend frequent as well as first time flyers, by offering them tickets at a much cheaper rate than offered by travel agents, the official said.
"Though, we have arrested Sheikh, we are on the lookout for Sameer Kasam Sheikh, the mastermind of the scam, and also trying to locate the computers from which the gang operated. Several cyber cafes are also under the scanner, from where the gang is believed to have operated. More arrests are likely to be made soon," he said.
Source: http://mangalorean.com