Airlines India, Indian Airlines

Delta airlines of United States has proposed to start its direct flight from New York to Mumbai from November 2006 and has entered into an interline agreement with Mumbai based Kingfisher Airlines. As per the agreement, Kingfisher Airlines will carry all the Delta’s passengers to their final destinations in India. Kingfisher shall provide a connecting flight which will depart within 2 hours from the arrival of Delta flight in Mumbai. This will keep the weiry passengers from waiting hours together at airports for conneting flights. These connecting flights will be available at the Mumbai International Airport and the passengers will not have to move to domestic airport for their connecting flight.

The passengers travelling India through Delta Airlines will be able to buy tickets for travelling to indian cities along with their Delta ticket. Kingfisher is also widening its network of agents in United States to sell tickets of Kingfisher Airlines in United States.

Kingfisher already has interline agreements with American Airlines, North West, Continental, Air India, Qutar Airways, etc. The airline, by concluding such agreements, is proving its quality of service which is being availed by international airlines for their international passengers.

Kingfisher Airlines has leased two Airbus A321 aircrafts from Pegasus Aviation Finance Company. At present Kingfisher has a fleet of 10 Airbus A-320s and 3 Airbus A-319s. Pegasus Aviation Fianace company is the world’s largest commercial aircraft lessor, it owns and manages a fleet of more than 200 aircrafts and it is a privately held company. As per the terms of lease, the ownership of the new aircrafts will be taken by Pegasus and Kingfisher will concurrently lease these airbus A-321s from Pegasus, the lessor.

Kingfisher started its operations in May 2005 and presently it is the fourth largest airline operating in India with a market share of about 9 percent. With the addition of Airbus A-321 Aircrafts to its fleet the airline expects to launch more flights and add more destinations to its network. The company was also very delighted on striking a deal with world’s largest commercial aircraft lessor.

Kingfisher will be the first in India to use Airbus A-321 carriers. It has state of the art technologies and is powered by IAE V-2500 engines and a seating capacity of about 150.

Taking on the budget carriers, full-service airlines today demanded that the government should regulate prices and suggested that higher entry barriers for new players could be a way out of the present financial cauldron facing the industry.

The move, however, was vehemently opposed by budget carriers, which stated that the excess capacity was only a temporary phenomenon and would pass as the market grew on lower fares.

The government, which called a meeting with airlines to work out a method to solve the sector’s financial problems, told the carriers that it would not interfere in pricing, which will be left to market forces.

The budget carriers are Air Deccan, SpiceJet and GoAir, while the full-service carriers include Jet Airways, Indian and Kingfisher.

There was a lot of concern over capacity building in certain routes and this was seen as a major reason for a large number of airlines bleeding, said Ajay Singh, director, SpiceJet, who attended today’s meeting. Singh also said the carriers raised questions on rationalisation of fares.

According to industry estimates, the domestic carriers together are expected to make staggering losses of Rs 2,500 crore in 2006-07.

The meeting was attended by Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal, Kingfisher Chairman Vijay Mallya, Air Deccan Managing Director GR Gopinath, SpiceJet’s Singh, Paramount Airways Managing Director M Thyagarajan, and Air Sahara President Alok Sharma.

The government, on its part, is planning a slew of steps to bring financial health back into the sector. The government is putting stiff conditions on the entry of new airlines that want to fly in the domestic skies.

These include enhancement of the minimum paid-up equity capital requirement, prior approval of business and fleet plans before permission is given to fly and directly linking an increase in fleet size with a commensurate increase in the paid-up equity capital norms laid out for carriers.

In order to ensure that the financial health of a carrier does not lead to bankruptcy, and also to curtail any example of predatory pricing by carriers, the government has proposed that it will review the business plans as well as the financials of the airlines every quarter and suggest corrective measures if required. This was a model the government said it was borrowing from the US.

The paid-up equity capital norm for new carriers will be hiked from the current Rs 30 crore to Rs 50 crore. For every five new aircraft inducted in a fleet, the airline’s paid-up equity capital will be enhanced by Rs 20 crore.

So for instance, a carrier that increases its fleet strength from five (which is the minimum needed for starting operations) will have to enhance its paid-up equity capital to Rs 70 crore if it has 10 aircraft.

In case it starts operation with 10 aircraft, it also has to pay the same amount. Earlier there were no such norms.

According to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, the government has decided to step in to ensure that the Indian carriers remain in good financial health.

“There is massive growth, but at the same time, there are losses, too. We want to ensure better business conditions. The government does not want a repeat of 1991,” said Patel. In 1991, a number of private airlines went belly up due to bad business plans and mounting losses.

New applications to start airlines will have to wait for some more time for licences, as the government wants to evaluate the business viability of these companies before awarding them permission to fly. This has been done to ensure that only sound players enter the sector.

The government came under fire from the private players on higher jet fuel prices. The airlines had pointed out to the government that while prices were high, oil marketing companies passed on the increased price to the carriers, but no such step was taken when fuel prices were down.

According to airlines, the civil aviation minister has assured the carriers that the civil aviation ministry is taking up this issue with the oil and finance ministries. The contribution of jet fuel prices to a carrier’s costs is about 40 per cent.

In addition, the civil aviation ministry is also proposing a tax package to the finance ministry, including long-term waiver of aircraft leasing tax, financial transaction taxes and abolition of services taxes.

The battle for the skies may finally be fought on the ground as airline companies are trying to attract more passengers by introducing passenger-friendly net-based technologies.
The latest is the web based check-in to help the passengers avoid those frustrating queues and last minute hassles at the check-in counters.

The web check-in facility allows passengers to access their boarding passes in the comfort of their home, book seats of their choice and proceed directly for the security check. While Kingfisher Airlines recently launched the product, low cost carriers Air Deccan and Indigo Airlines plans to introduce it shortly.

Air Deccan, plans to launch the web check-in product in the next two months. “We should be able to put the technology in place by November end,” Air Deccan chief technology officer Ajay Bhatkal said.

New entrant Indigo Airlines will introduce web check-in within a week, calling it a part of their strategy “of taking the hassle out of travel”.

Kingfisher Airlines, which has garnered almost 9% domestic market share since the start of their operations in May 2005, recently launched the product.

Moving a step further, the airline company has introduced a new concept of roving agents who reach out to the passengers and check them in, using a mobile digital device and printer.

Jet Airways was the first airline in the country, and the fifth airline in Asia Pacific to introduce the product in the country in October 2005.

National domestic carrier Indian Airlines was also undergoing technological upgrades, company sources informed.

No more waiting at the Check-in counter; Guests with hand baggage can directly proceed towards security check-in where the Kingfisher Airlines’ Roving Agent will print their boarding passes, Now you can choose your seat and print your own Kingfisher Airlines Boarding Pass at your Home or Office

Kingfisher Airlines India’s fastest growing airline and India’s first carrier to introduce First class premium cabins onboard its flights- Kingfisher First, announced the launch of two world-class technological innovations to enhance guest convenience.

The first cutting-edge innovation is the introduction of the Roving Agent at the airport. Now guests with hand baggage need not wait at the check-in counter to collect their boarding pass. They can directly approach the security check-in counters. Deployed outside the Security check-in area will be Kingfisher Airlines’ Roving Agent who will attend to these guests personally and book them on their choice of seats. Specially trained Roving Agents will reach out to guests and check them in using a mobile digital device and printer. Kingfisher Airlines is the first airline in India to launch this unique service.

Also launched is the facility of Web Check-in. Now Kingfisher Airlines guests can sit in the comfort of their homes or offices and print their boarding passes. All a guest has to do is log onto the official website of Kingfisher Airlines, www.flykingfisher.com and click on the link, web check-in. Fill in your reservation details and the screen will display the choice of seats available onboard that particular flight. Once booked the guest can conveniently print out the Boarding Pass and carry it along with him/her on the day of the flight and proceed straight to the security check counter at the airport.

Stated Dr. Vijay Mallya, Chairman & CEO, Kingfisher Airlines Limited, “At Kingfisher Airlines we have always emphasized upon the importance of service and hospitality. In the past 16 months we have introduced several world-class initiatives to add to the convenience of our guests. The 2 new services- Web Check-In and The Roving Agent are two highly innovative steps to make our guests’ journey with us even more delightful. In the times to come, many more such innovative initiatives will be undertaken by Kingfisher Airlines.”

Commented Mr. Girish Shah, “The Roving Agent is like a check-in counter on the move. You no longer need to go to the check-in counter; we have ensured that the check-in counter comes to you. So you will be serviced on priority if you are a guest with only hand baggage. At Kingfisher Airlines we constantly innovate when it comes to providing added convenience to our guests. And when we say we want them to enjoy the Good Times with us, we do everything possible to ensure that. There are several more such path-breaking initiatives in the pipeline.”

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. Lastly 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”. Kingfisher Airlines commenced operations on May 9th, 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.