Kingfisher Airlines Takes Off

Kingfisher Airlines took to the skies on May 9, 2005 on the Mumbai-Bangalore route. It commenced operations with a double daily service in both directions and from May 20 will increase its flights to thrice daily in both directions. In keeping with the trend of multiple price options, with an unrestricted fare rule, aimed at different traffic segments on all carriers, Kingfisher Airlines has decided to operate under three fare levels on all flights. All Kingfisher flights will depart from the Indian Airlines Terminal 1A. Passengers can book through an IATA travel agent, through the internet or the call centre. Kingfisher Airlines has also launched a home delivery system. It has positioned itself as a full-service value carrier with in-flight entertainment with a personal television screen at the back of each seat with a 10-channel audio and a 5-channel video system. The airline is currently operating with a brand new A320-200 aircraft bought by the airline which is slated to add new aircraft to its fleet every month till the end of the year. The Airbus fleet of Kingfisher Airlines will comprise both the Airbus A320 and A319 that seats 174 and 144 guests respectively in a single class configuration - K Class. For a business traveller Kingfisher ensures that there are convenient same day returns between all destinations that it plans to operate on. The airline plans to operate flights on the Bangalore-Delhi route by June 6, 2005. The one-way fare in the Mumbai-Bangalore route is Rs 3,900/Rs 4,900/Rs 5,900. For the Delhi-Bangalore route, the one-way fare is Rs 6,900/Rs 8,900/Rs 10,900. Dr Vijay Mallya launched Kingfisher Airlines at a spectacular evening at the Air India hangar in Mumbai. Gracing the occasion were several leading personalities that included Maharashtra Governor SM Krishna, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and Union Minister Of Agriculture Sharad Pawar and Union Minister For Sports And Youth Affairs Sunil Dutt.