Kingfisher Airlines

Kingfisher Airlines Limited is an airline group based in India. Its head office is in Andheri (East), Mumbai and Registered Office in UB City, Bangalore. Kingfisher Airlines, through its parent company United Breweries Group, has a 50% stake in low-cost carrier Kingfisher Red. The airline has been facing financial issues for many years.[5] Until December 2011, Kingfisher Airlines had the second largest share in India's domestic air travel market. However due to the severe financial crisis faced by the airline, it has the lowest market share currently.[6] In May 2009, Kingfisher Airlines carried more than 1 million passengers, giving it the highest market share among airlines in India.[7] Kingfisher also won the Skytrax award for India's best airline of the year 2011. Kingfisher Airlines is also the sponsor of F1 racing outfit, Force India, which Vijay Mallya also owns.

History
Kingfisher Airlines was established in 2003. It is owned by the Bengaluru based United Breweries Group. The airline started commercial operations in 9 May 2005 with a fleet of four new Airbus A320-200s operating a flight from Mumbai to Delhi.[9] It started its international operations on 3 September 2008 by connecting Bengaluru with London.

Financial difficulties

Ever since the airline commenced operations in 2005, it has been reporting losses. After acquiring Air Deccan, Kingfisher suffered a loss of over 1,000 crore (US$181 million) for three consecutive years. By early 2012, the airline accumulated losses of over 7,000 crore (US$1.27 billion) with half of its fleet grounded and several members of its staff going on strike. Kingfisher's position in top Indian airlines on the basis of market share had slipped to 5 from 2 because of the crisis. As response, Dr. Vijay Mallya called on the Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes and offered to pay up the dues by 13 December 2011 as the Income Tax Department had frozen all its bank accounts.[10] The Kingfisher bank accounts were unfrozen on 14 December 2011.[11] Due non-payment, several Kingfisher's vendors had filed winding up petition with the High Court. As on November 2011, winding up petition of seven creditors was pending before the Bangalore High Court.[12] In the past Lufthansa Technik & Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) had also filed winding up petition against Kingfisher Airlines[13] During late February 2012, Kingfisher Airlines started to sink into a fresh crisis. Several flights were cancelled and aircraft were grounded. The cash-strapped airline claimed that the disruptions will continue for four days due to unexpected events including bird strikes which rendered aircraft out of service. The airline shut down most international short-haul operations and also temporarily closed bookings. Out of the 64 aircraft, only 22 were known to be operational by 20 February. With this, Kingfisher's market share clearly dropped to 11.3%.[14] The cancellation of the flights was accompanied by a 13.5% drop in the stocks of

the company on 20 February 2012. The CEO of the airlines, Sanjay Agarwal was summoned by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Chairman CBDT to explain the disruptions of the operations.[15] In March 2012, the airline was suspended by the International Air Transport Association from using its inter-airline fund clearing system, the suspension means the airline will have to deal directly with other airlines when sharing revenue on services.[16] The Income Tax authorities in India have frozen accounts due to Income Tax deducted from Employees Salaries and not deposited with the Government since March 2009, apart from non payment of Service Tax.[17] Due to the ongoing financial crisis, an Airbus A330-200 aircraft was impounded at London Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom under Court Orders due to unpaid fees to aircraft leasing companies and RBS. In June 2012, GVK - India's second-largest airport operator - launched legal proceedings against Kingfisher Airlines, as a series of cheques issued by the airline, bounced.

Destinations
As of 10 April 2012, Kingfisher Airlines serves 25 domestic destinations within India. It suspended all international operations from 10 April 2012 with the final flight between London Heathrow and Delhi.[19] All routes are now operated with the Airbus A320 family, ATR 42s and ATR 72 aircrafts. Its first long haul destination was London, United Kingdom which was launched in September 2008. It has plans to launch new long haul flights to cities in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania with deliveries of new aircraft. All long haul routes used to be operated on the Airbus A330-200.

Codeshare agreement

Prior to the suspension from IATA, Kingfisher had codeshare agreements with:

American Airlines (Oneworld)[20] Asiana Airlines (Star Alliance)

Corporate affairs

Kingfisher's head office is located in The Qube in Andheri (East), Mumbai and its registered office is located in UB City, Bangalore.[22][23] Its head office was previously in the Kingfisher House in Vile Parle

(East), Mumbai.[24] In 2012 Vijay Mallya was trying to sell the Vile Parle Kingfisher House.[25] On 6 July 2012,Kingfisher Airlines paid the salaries to their staff for the month of February.

Fleet
Current

Airbus A319 on runway of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad

ATR 72-500

Airbus A320-200 taxiing at HAL Airport, Bangalore

Airbus A330-200

Due to the financial problems of Kingfisher Airlines, the fleet was drastically reduced from 63 to 16. A majority of the fleet was repossessed by lessors in March 2012.[27] Although Airbus has not cancelled/suspended the orders yet,[28] it is unlikely that Kingfisher Airlines will start taking the deliveries in near future.

Services
Cabin classes Domestic Kingfisher First

The domestic Kingfisher First seats have a 48 inch seat pitch and a 126 degree seat recline. There are laptop and mobile phone chargers on every seat. Passengers can avail of the latest international newspapers and magazines. There is also a steam ironing service on board Kingfisher First cabins. Every seat is equipped with a personalised IFE system with AVOD which offers a wide range of Hollywood and Bollywood movies, English and Hindi TV programmes, 16 live TV channels and 10 channels of Kingfisher Radio. Passengers also get BOSE noise cancellation headphones.
DomeKingfisher Class

The domestic Kingfisher Class has 32-34 inch seat pitch. Every seat is equipped with personal IFE systems with AVOD on board the Airbus A320 family aircraft. As in Kingfisher First, passengers can access movies, English and Hindi TV programmes, a few live TV channels powered by DishTV, and Kingfisher Radio. The screen is controlled by a controller-console on the seat armrest. Earcup headphones are provided free of cost to all passengers. The default channel shows, alternating every few seconds, the aeroplane's ground speed, outside temperature, altitude, distance and time to destination, the position of the aircraft on a graphical map, and one or more advertisements. Passengers are served meals on most flights. Before take-off, passengers are served bottled lemonade.
Kingfisher Red Main article: Kingfisher Red

After Kingfisher Airlines acquired Air Deccan, its name was changed to Simplifly Deccan and subsequently to Kingfisher Red. Kingfisher Red is Kingfisher Airline's low-cost class on domestic routes. A special edition of Cine Blitz magazine is the only reading material provided.

Kingfisher Airlines is the first airline in India to extend its King Club frequent flyer program to its low-cost carrier as well. Passengers can earn King Miles even when they fly Kingfisher Red, which they can redeem for free tickets to travel on Kingfisher Airlines or partner airlines.
nternational Kingfisher First

Prior to losing its A330 fleet, Kingfisher offered an international business/first product called Kingfisher First which featured full flat-bed seats with a 180 degree recline, with a seat pitch of 78 inches, and a seat width of 20-24.54 inches.[31] Passengers were given Merino wool blankets, a Salvatore Ferragamo toiletry kit, a pyjama to change into, five-course meals and alcoholic beverages. Also available were in-seat massagers, chargers and USB connectors. Every Kingfisher First seat had a 17 inch widescreen personal television with AVOD touchscreen controls and offers 357 hours of programming content spread over 36 channels, including Hollywood and Bollywood movies along with 16 channels of live TV, so passengers can watch their favorite TV programmes live. There was also a collection of interactive games, a jukebox with customisable playlists and Kingfisher Radio. Passengers are given BOSE noise cancellation headphones. The service on board the Kingfisher First cabins included a social area comprising a fullfledged bar staffed with a bartender, a break-out seating area just nearby fitted with two couches and bar stools, a full-fledged chef on board the aircraft and any-time dining. A turndown service included the conversion of the seat into a fully flat bed and an air-hostess making the bed when the passenger is ready to sleep. Both Kingfisher First and Kingfisher classes featured mood lighting on the Airbus A330-200 with light schemes corresponding to the time of day and flight position.
Kingfisher Class

The international Kingfisher Class (no longer available since Kingfisher lost its A330 longhaul fleet) seats offered a seat pitch of 34 inches, a seat width of 18 inches and a seat recline of 25 degrees (6 inches). Passengers received full length modacrylic blankets, full size pillows and meals. Each Kingfisher Class seat had a 10.6 inch widescreen personal television with AVOD touchscreen controls. The IFE was similar to that of the international Kingfisher First class. It could also be controlled by a detachable remote-control console fitted in the armrest. This device could be used to control the IFE, reading-lights, play games and even has a credit-card swipe for shopping on Kingfisher's 'Air Boutique'. It also had a facility for sending textmessages, though the service wasn't provided by Kingfisher.

Cargo Kingfisher Xpress Further information: Kingfisher Xpress

Kingfisher Xpress is a new Door-to-Door cargo delivery service from Kingfisher Airlines. Kingfisher Xpress same day service will be India's first and only same day delivery by air service.
In-flight entertainment

Kingfisher's IFE system is the Thales TopSeries i3000/i4000 on board the Airbus A320 family aircraft, and Thales TopSeries i5000 on board the Airbus A330 family aircraft provided by the France-based Thales Group.[32] Kingfisher was the first Indian airline to have in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems on every seat even on domestic flights. All passengers were given a "welcome kit" consisting of goodies such as a pen, facial tissue and headphones to use with the IFE system. Now, passengers of Kingfisher class are not given "welcome kits" but, as mentioned earlier, a complimentary bottle of lemonade and earphones for use with the IFE are still given. The inflight magazines are special editions of magazines owned by Mallya's media publishing house (VJM Media) viz. Hi! Blitz for domestic flights and Hi! Living for international flights. Initially, passengers were able to watch only recorded TV programming on the IFE system, but later an alliance was formed with Dish TV to provide live TV in-flight.[33] And in a marked departure from tradition, Kingfisher Airlines decided to have an on-screen safety demonstration using the IFE system, however the conventional safety briefing by the flight attendants still exists on many flights.
kingfisher Club

The Frequent-flyer program of Kingfisher Airlines is called the King Club in which members earn King Miles every time they fly with Kingfisher or its partner airlines, hotels, car rental, finance and lifestyle businesses. There are four levels in the scheme: Red, Silver,Gold and Platinum levels. Members can redeem points for over a number of schemes. Platinum, Gold and Silver members enjoy access to the Kingfisher Lounge, priority check-in, excess baggage allowance, bonus miles, and 3 Kingfisher First upgrade vouchers for Gold membership. Platinum members get 5 upgrade vouchers.
Kingfisher Lounge

Kingfisher Lounges are offered to Kingfisher First passengers, along with King Club Silver and King Club Gold members. Lounges are located in:

Bangalore International Airport

Chennai International Airport Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (Mumbai) Cochin International Airport (Kochi) Indira Gandhi International Airport (Delhi) London Heathrow Airport Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport (Kolkata)

Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (Hyderabad)

Awards and achievements

Adrian Sutil is pursued by Lewis Hamilton at the 2010 Malaysian GP. Kingfisher is a sponsor of Force India

Kingfisher Airlines frequent flyer programme, King Club has won Top Honours at the 21st Annual Freddie Awards in the Japan, Pacific, Asia and Australia region. o King Club has won the Freddie Awards 2008 in the following categories: Best Bonus Promotion Best Customer Service Best Member Communications (First Runner-up) Best Award Redemption (First Runner-up) Best Elite Level (Second Runner-up) Best Website (Second Runner-up) Program of the Year (Second Runner-up) Kingfisher Airlines has received three global awards at the Skytrax World Airline Awards 2010 o Named Best Airline In India / Central Asia; Best Cabin Crew Central Asia. o Kingfisher RED named Best Low Cost Airline in India / Central Asia. NDTV Profit Business Leadership Award for Aviation. India's only 5 Star airline, rated by Skytrax and 6th airline in the world. Rated India's Second Buzziest Brand 2008 by The Brand Reporter.

Voted as India's Favourite Airline. Rated as Asia Pacific's Top Airline Brand. Brand Leadership Award. Economic Times Avaya Award 2006 for Excellence in Customer Responsiveness. India's No. 1 Airline in customer satisfaction by Business World.

Rated amongst India's most respected companies by Business World. Rated amongst India's 25 Innovative Companies by Planman Media in 2006. The Best Airline" and "India's Favourite Carrier' in a Survey conducted by IMB for The Times Of India. Best New Domestic Airline for Excellent Services and Cuisine by Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA). Service Excellence 2005-2006 for a New Airline by Skytrax. Ranked Third in the survey on India's Most Successful Brand launch of 2005 under the Brand Derby Survey conducted by Business Standard. Buzziest Brands of 2005 by agencyfaqs and The Brand Reporter. Rated amongst the Top Ten Internet Advertisers by Yahoo. Rated amongst the top ten in the Best Television Commercial Jingles by NDTV. Best New Airline of the Year Award for 2005 by Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) Award in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East region. Listed in the top 100 most trusted brand in The Brand Trust Report.