Kingfisher Airlines

Kingfisher Airlines launches its international operations with Bangalore-London route : Kingfisher Airlines launched its service on the Bangalore - London route, yesterday, marking the commencement of its international operations. The airline has invested USD 400 million into this service, which it will raise partly through equity. The airline has got all the requisite permissions from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and the UK Government for this service. Kingfisher Airlines will use A330-200 series aircraft on the Bangalore-London route. The flight will have First Class, Premium Economy Class and Red, an economic low fare offering for its passengers.

"The passenger traffic in and going out of Bangalore is very robust and continues to grow. Nearly 12,000 people from Silicon Valley , USA work in India . We will therefore operate from Bangalore first," said Vijaya Mallya, Chairman and CEO, Kingfisher Airlines . The airline does not plan to give any promotional fares during the initial launch period. "We plan to keep the fares at Rs 1,000 more than British Airways," said Mallya. The first flight has a load factor of 70 per cent although the reservation process started only nine days before the launch. The airline had earlier planned to commence the reservation six weeks prior to the launch of its operations, but was waiting for approvals. Kingfisher Red Airlines plans to launch services from Bangalore to Bangkok , Dubai , San Francisco , Malay and so on in the next eight weeks.

The Bangalore-San Francisco service will be launched on November 1, 2008. The Kingfisher airline hopes to completely launch its international operations by the end of the winter season. Commenting on the high Sales Tax for Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) in Karnataka, Mallya said that he has spoken to the Chief Minister of the state along with other stakeholders requesting for a reduction in the Sales Tax. "We need to follow the Andhra Pradesh Government, which reduced the Sales Tax to four per cent once the new airport was established and there was an increase in flights to Hyderabad . The reduction will help stimulate the new airport and ensure greater connectivity," added Mallya.