Kingfisher AirlinesFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kingfisher Airlines

IATAIT

ICAOKFR

CallsignKINGFISHER

Founded 2003

Commenced

operations

9 May 2005

Ceased operations October 2012

Hubs Bengaluru International

Airport (Bangalore)

Secondary hubs Chhatrapati Shivaji International

Airport (Mumbai)

Indira Gandhi International

Airport (Delhi)

Focus cities Chennai International Airport

Pune International Airport

Frequent-flyer

program

King Club

Airport lounge Kingfisher Lounge

Subsidiaries Kingfisher Xpress

Fleet size 7

Destinations 25[1]

Company slogan Fly The Good Times

Parent company United Breweries Group

Headquarters The Qube, Mumbai,Maharashtra [2] [3]

Key people Vijay Mallya  (CMD)

Sanjay Aggarwal (CEO)

Hitesh Patel (EVP)

Revenue   58.15 billion (US$1.06 billion)(2012)

Net income   -23.28 billion (US$-0.42 billion)(2012)

Employees 5,696 (2012)

Website flykingfisher.com

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 had been facing financial issues for many years.[4] Until December 2011, Kingfisher Airlines had

the second largest share in India's domestic air travel market. However due to a severe financial crisis

faced by the airline at the beginning of 2012, it has the lowest market share since April 2012.[5][6] The

airline has temporarily shut down its operations when on October 20, 2012 the DGCA suspended its

flying license. This suspension had been due to failure to give an effective response to the show-cause

notice issued by DGCA. However, The airline had locked out its employees for several days before

this suspension. On 25 October 2012, the employees agreed to return to work.[7] On 7 June 2010

Kingfisher became a member elect of the Oneworld airline alliance when it signed a formal

membership agreement. Kingfisher confirmed on the 20 December 2011 that it will join the Oneworld

airline alliance on 10 February 2012. Kingfisher would have been the first Indian carrier to join one of

the big airline alliances.[8] However on February 3, 2012, owing to bad financial situation and two days

after the International Air Transport Association (IATA) clearing house suspended Kingfisher Airlines;

the airlines participation to Oneworld has been put on hold.[9]

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$182 million) for three consecutive years.

By early 2012, the airline accumulated losses of over Rs. 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 last from 2 because of the crisis. In December

2011, for the second time in two months, Kingfisher's bank accounts were frozen by the Mumbai

Income Tax department for non-payment of dues. Kingfisher Airlines owes  70 crore (US$12.74

million) to the service tax department.[10] Indian tax body also stated that Kingfisher Airlines is

delinquent[11] As response, Vijay Mallya called on the CBDT chairman and offered to pay up the dues

by 13 December 2011.[12] Kingfisher bank accounts were unfrozen on 14 December 2011.[13] Due to

non-payment, several Kingfisher's vendors had filed winding up petition with the High Court. As of

November 2011, a winding up petition of seven creditors was pending before the Bangalore High

Court.[14] In the past Lufthansa Technik & Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) had also filed

winding up petition against Kingfisher Airlines[15] On 1 January 2013, the airline's flying permit lapsed

after it missed the deadline for renewal.[16]

Contents

  [hide] 

1   History

o 1.1   Financial difficulties

o 1.2   Payment problems

2   Suspension of the airline

o 2.1   Fleet grounding

o 2.2   Frozen bank accounts, IATA suspension and Mallya arrest

3   Destinations

o 3.1   Codeshare agreement

4   Fleet

o 4.1   Current

o 4.2   Pre-2012 Fleet

5   Services

o 5.1   Cabin

o 5.2   In-flight entertainment

o 5.3   King Club

o 5.4   Kingfisher Lounge

6   Awards and achievements

7   Accidents and incidents

8   See also

9   References

10   External links

[edit]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.[17] It started its international operations on 3 September

2008 by connecting Bengaluru with London. Kingfisher's head office is located in The Qube

in Andheri (East), Mumbai and its registered office is located in UB City, Bangalore.[18][19] Its head office

was previously in the Kingfisher House in Vile Parle (East), Mumbai.[20] In 2012Vijay Mallya was trying

to sell the Vile Parle Kingfisher House.[21]

[edit]Financial difficulties

The crisis stared with the freezing of the bank accounts of the airline by the Indian Income Tax

Department.[22] Following are the year by year financial results of Kingfisher Airlines, all values are

depicted in Indian rupee (INR) crore except EPS, which is in plain INR.[23]

# From To Months Total Income Cost Net Profit EPS

01 Apr-05 Jun-06 15 1,352 1,689 -337 -68

02 Jul-06 Jun-07 12 2,142 2,562 -420 -42

03 Jul-07 Mar-08 09 1,546 1,734 -188 -11

04 Apr-08 Mar-09 12 5,577 7,186 -1,609 -55

05 Apr-09 Mar-10 12 5,271 6,918 -1,647 -54

06 Apr-10 Mar-11 12 6,496 7,523 -1,027 -16

07 Apr-11 Sep-11 06 3,410 4,142 -732 n/a

Total 78 25,794 31,754 -5,960

In November 2010, Kingfisher Airlines completed restructuring of 8,000 crore (US$1.46 billion) debt,

with all 18 lenders agreeing to cut interest rates and convert part of loans to equity.[24] Lenders have

converted Rs. 650 crore (US$ 118.3 million) debt into preference shares which will be converted into

equity when the airline lists on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange by selling global depositary receipts

(GDR). Shares will be converted into ordinary equity at the price at which the GDRs are sold to

investors. Besides the Rs. 1,400 crore (US$ 254.8 million) debt which will be converted into preference

shares, another Rs. 800 crore (US$ 145.6 million) debt has been converted into redeemable shares

for 12 years.[24] Airline's average interest rate is now down to 11%, helping the airline save Rs. 500

crore (US$ 91 million) crore every year on interest cost. Consortium of banks was represented by SBI

Capital Markets. Kingfisher Airlines Ltd has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Company

at its meeting held on November 25, 2010, has approved a Debt Recast Package (DRP) with lending

banks, following a one-time relaxation in restructuring guidelines sanctioned by the Reserve Bank of

India. The salient features of the DRP include:

1. Conversion of debt of up to Rs. 1,355 crore (US$ 246.61 million) from lenders into share

capital.[24]

2. Conversion of debt of up to Rs. 648 crore (US$ 117.94 million) from promoters into share

capital.

3. Re-scheduling of repayment of the balance debt to lenders over 9 years with a moratorium of

2 years.

4. Reduction in interest rates.

5. Sanction of additional fund and non-fund based facilities by the lenders.

The recast plan involved the issuing of the following types of preference shares.[25]

Share type Dividend Quantity Price Recipient

Redeemable Cumulative Preference Shares

8% 575,000,000 10 (US$0.18) Consortium of lenders

Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares

7.5% 780,000,000Rs. 10 (US$ 0.18)

Consortium of lenders

Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares

7.5% 648,000,000Rs. 10 (US$ 0.18)

United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd, Kingfisher Finvest India Ltd

Optionally Convertible Debentures

8% 20,000,000Rs. 100 (US$ 1.82)

Star Investments Ltd.

Optionally Convertible Debentures

8% 30,000,000Rs. 100 (US$ 1.82)

Margosa Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.

Optionally Convertible Debentures

8% 30,000,000Rs. 100 (US$ 1.82)

Redect Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.

In addition to these issues, 9,700,000 units of 6% Redeemable Preference Shares of Rs. 100

(US$ 1.82) each issued to United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd. (Promoter Company) were converted to

97,000,000 units of 6% Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares of Rs. 10 (US$ 0.18) each.

Kingfisher Airlines, in November 2011 was attempting for a second debt recast. However a second

debt recast has been ruled out by the Government of India. The Minister of State for Finance made a

statement on 9 December 2011.[26] Kingfisher Airlines has pledged its brand as collateral with its lender

consortium for Rs. 4,100 crore (US$ 746.2 million). The brand valuation was done by Grant Thorton in

2010.[26] Reportedly the Brand has been valued and loan raised worth triple the carrier’s market value.

[27] On July 6, 2011, pursuant to requirements prescribed under the Debt Recast Package Kingfisher

Airlines' founder companies, United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd andKingfisher Finvest Ltd, have pledged

their entire stake in the airline with certain of its lenders.[28] United Breweries Holdings Ltd held

199,598,555 shares (representing 40.1% of total outstanding shares) in the airline and has pledged all

the shares to lenders. At the same time, Kingfisher Finvest Ltd held 63,478,570 shares (representing

12.75% of total outstanding shares) has pledged its entire holding to the lenders.[29]

[edit]Erosion of net worth

In September 2011, the chairman and managing director of Kingfisher Airlines made following

disclosure to the Bombay Stock Exchange(BSE); "The Company has incurred substantial losses and

its net worth has been eroded. However, having regard to improvement in the economic sentiment,

rationalization measures adopted by the Company, fleet recovery and the implementation of the debt

recast package with the lenders and promoters including conversion of debt into share capital, these

interim financial statements have been prepared on the basis that the Company is agoing concern and

that no adjustments are required to the carrying value of assets and liabilities"[30] This filing was widely

covered by Indian and international print and electronic media and analysts. It was stated by analysts

and media that the company needed capital infusion to remain viable and this has pushed shares to

near historic lows.[31] Kingfisher Airlines Lenders later stated that they consider that company is viable.

[32] On 15 November 2011 the airline released poor financial results, indicating that it was "drowning in

high-interest debt and losing money". Mallya indicated that his solution was for the government to

reduce fuel and other taxes. The government was engaged in assessing whether to bail out the

company and other airlines or let market forces determine which ones survive.[33]

[edit]Payment problems

Kingfisher received a notice from the Airports Authority of India on February 2012 regarding

accumulated dues of  255.06 crore (US$46.42 million). The airline was operating on a cash and carry

basis for the last six months, with daily payments amounting to Rs. 0.8 crore (US$ 145,600) [34] On 9

December 2011, MC Joshi, CBDT chairman announced that it is considering legal action against

Kingfisher for not paying tax and may go for prosecution.[26] As of 10 January 2012, Kingfisher Airlines

has service tax arrears of Rs. 60 crore (US$ 10.92 million). The Ministry of Financehas given a

concession to Kingfisher and instructed them to pay the dues by 31 March 2012. In January 2012,

Kingfisher paid Rs. 20 crore (US$ 3.64 million) towards its dues for December 2011 and part of the

arrears.[35] Kingfisher Airlines a has staff strength of 6,000 and spends  58 crore (US$10.56 million) on

salaries a month. According to the first quarter financial results, it hasRs. 173.66 crore (US$ 31.61

million) under the employees cost head, which has increased from Rs. 163.41 crore (US$ 29.74

million) during the same quarter last year. Kingfisher Airlines delayed salaries of its employees in

August 2011,[36] and for four months in succession from October 2011 to January 2012 [37][38][39] In a

report to Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on 9 January 2012, Kingfisher had stated that it

has paid past (salary) dues to 60% of its employees and that by 31 January 2012, payment of

December 2011 salary for all its employees will be done.[40] Protesting at the delays in payment,

Kingfisher pilots started making in-flight announcements citing "It is their sense of duty towards the

guest that is making them fly despite not being paid salaries for the past two months".[41] Kingfisher

also defaulted on paying the Tax Deducted at Source from the employee income to the tax

department.[42]

[edit]Bank arrears

Kingfisher Airlines had not paid some bankers (Lenders) as per the Debt Recast Package (DRP) with

lending banks. Till the end of December 2011, the arrears were estimated to beRs. 260 crore

(US$ 47.32 million) to Rs. 280 crore (US$ 50.96 million). Lenders hence had told Kingfisher Airlines to

clear its dues before they can release any more money sought by the Airline. Ravi Nedungadi, chief

financial officer of UB Group however said that the arrears were Rs. 180 crore (US$ 32.76 million).[43] If

arrears were not paid in time (December 2011); Kingfisher Airlines would automatically have been

treated as NPA, (Non-performing asset).[44] On the last working day of the third quarter of financial year

2011-2012, Kingfisher Airlines made one month interest amount to the banks; thus saving the account

from becoming a non-performing asset.[45]

State Bank of India (SBI) on 5 January 2012 declared Kingfisher Airlines a non-performing asset. SBI

is the largest creditor and leader of the consortium of banks in the DRP (Debt Recast Package) and

has an exposure of Rs. 1,457.78 crore (US$ 265.32 million).[46] By February 2012, Kingfisher has been

declared a non-performing asset by the following banks;[47][48]

State Bank of India (SBI)

Bank of Baroda

Punjab National Bank (PNB)

IDBI Bank (IDBI)

Central Bank of India

Bank of India (BOI)

Corporation Bank

[edit]Aircraft lease and fuel dues

Since 2008, it has been reported that Kingfisher Airlines has been unable to pay the aircraft lease

rentals on time. Kingfisher Airlines has grounded 15 out of 66 aircraft in its fleet as it was unable to

meet the maintenance and overhaul expenses.[49]

GECAS: In November 2008, GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) threatened to

repossess four leased planes in lieu of default. Kingfisher Airlines initially denied that it missed the

payments.[50][51] GECAS had filed a complaint with DGCA saying Kingfisher had defaulted on

rentals for four Airbus A320 aircraft, and sought repossession of the planes.[52] In January 2009,

The Karnataka High Court rejected petition by Kingfisher Airlines to restrain GECAS from taking

any step to deregister and repossess the 04 aircraft in dispute. As a result, Kingfisher had to

return the A320 aircraft to GECAS.[53]

DVB: In July 2010, DVB Aviation Finance Asia Ltd (DVB) (a lessor from Singapore), sued

Kingfisher Airlines for lease rental default. Case was filed in a United Kingdom court on 16 July

2010 after Kingfisher did not pay for three month lease rental for Airbus A320 aircraft it leased

from DVB.[54]

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited  (HPCL): In July 2011, HPCL stopped the fuel (ATF)

supplies for about two hours to Kingfisher Airlines owing to the non-payment of dues. The

situation was later resolved by Kingfisher chairman Vijay Mallya meeting the Central Board of

Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman to unfreeze some A/C's.[55] In the past several years, Kingfisher

Airlines has had trouble paying their fuel bills.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) in 2009 had filed a case against Kingfisher Airlines for

non-payment of dues. The High court ordered that the entire amount ( 245 crore (US$44.59

million)) had to be paid by November 2010 and the airline paid it in instalments.[56]

[edit]Suspension of the airline

[edit]Fleet grounding

Vijay Mallya, the chairman of Kingfisher and UB

During late February 2012, Kingfisher Airlines started to sink into a fresh crisis. Several flights were

cancelled and aircraft were grounded. The 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 February 20. With this, Kingfisher's market share

clearly dropped to 11.3%.[57] 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 to explain the disruptions of the operations.[58]

The State Bank of India, which is the lead lender to Kingfisher Airlines said that they would not

consider giving any more loans to Kingfisher unless and until it comes up with a new equity by itself.

Political activists also claimed that bailing or helping a private airline would lead to problems within the

Government. By February 27, Kingfisher operated only above 150 out of its 400 flights and only 28

aircraft were functional. Reuters reported that if Kingfisher were to shut down, it would be the biggest

failure in the history of Indian aviation.[59] It was announced that the direct flights to the smaller airports

of Jaipur, Thiruvananthapuram, Nagpur and also to Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International

Airport were all shut down and only one/two-stop flights from its main hubs of Delhi – Indira Gandhi

International Airport(IGIA) and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Mumbai would operate.[60] In

response to a situation as bad as bankruptcy, Vijay Mallya announced that he had organized funds to

pay all the employees' overdue salaries. With bank accounts frozen and huge debts due, it is unknown

so as from where he arranged the money. But he apologized to his workers and said that he would

pay them immediately. By this time, kingfisher had accumulated losses of  444 crore (US$80.81

million) during the third quarter of the fiscal year 2011-12.[61] Reuters then reported that Etihad

Airways was interested in investing in Kingfisher by providing equity in exchange for a stake in the

airline. Also involved in the talks was the International Airlines Group, owner of British flag

carrier British Airways and Spanish flag carrier Iberia.[62]

[edit]Frozen bank accounts, IATA suspension and Mallya arrest

On March 3, 2012, The CBDT of India froze many more Kingfisher accounts as it was unable to pay all

the dues as per schedule. Kingfisher was meant to pay Rs. 1 crore (US$ 182,000) per working day. It

reportedly missed the deadline set by the board and could not pay the dues until the evening on

February 29. This led to more accounts being frozen. The airline neither did comment on the situation,

nor pay the taxes.[63] Aviation minister Ajit Singh warned the airline about the temporary suspension of

the license until the crisis was sorted out. He announced that the rest of the airline's fleet would be

grounded and all flights cancelled until the crisis came to an end. This would be only one step from

permanently closing the airline.[64] On March 7, 2012 IATAsuspended ticket sales of Kingfisher Airlines

citing non-payment of dues as the primary reason, and they said that sales services will only be

restored once Kingfisher settles ICH (IATA Clearing House) account.[65] IATA also immediately directed

all travel agents to stop booking tickets for Kingfisher. According to preliminary reports, this would

affect Kingfisher's business by around 30%. Kingfisher claimed that frozen bank accounts was the

main cause of being unable to pay the IATA, and the airline started making alternate arrangements for

the sale of tickets.[66]

Soon it became difficult for the airline to follow the much smaller schedule that it earlier released as

even more pilots began to go on strike. A pilot later claimed that from March 12, about 80% of the

pilots would not fly as they mentioned in their letter to Vijay Mallya. The airline's plans on restarting all

services by April 4 did not seem too real at the moment.[67] On 12 October 2012 an income tax court in

Hyderabad issued a non-bailable warrant against Kingfisher Airlines and its chairman Vijay Mallya in a

case of 'bouncing' cheques filed by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL). The case

pertains to bouncing of cheques worth Rs 10 crore issued by Kingfisher Airlines to GMR as Hyderabad

airport charges. GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd, which manages the Rajiv Gandhi

International Airport, had earlier moved the Nampally criminal court in Hyderabad and filed a case

against Kingfisher for dishonouring four cheques worth Rs 10.5 crore.[68][additional citation needed] On 20 October

2012, Kingfisher's licence was suspended by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation after it failed to

address the Indian regulator's concerns about its operations.[69]

[edit]Destinations

Main article: Kingfisher Airlines destinations

As of 10 April 2012, Kingfisher Airlines served 25 domestic destinations within India. It had suspended

all international operations from 10 April 2012 with the final flight between London Heathrow and Delhi.

[70] When the airline is flying, all routes are now operated with the Airbus A320 family, ATR

42s and ATR 72 aircraft. Its first long haul destination was London, United Kingdom which was

launched in September 2008. It had 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.

[edit]Codeshare agreement

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

American Airlines  (Oneworld)[71]

Asiana Airlines  (Star Alliance)

Philippine Airlines [72]

[edit]Fleet

[edit]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.[73] Although Airbus has not

cancelled/suspended the orders yet,[74] it is unlikely that Kingfisher Airlines will start taking the

deliveries in near future.6 Airbus A320 and One ATR72 have been confiscated by lessors on 11

December 2012.[citation needed]

The Kingfisher Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of October 2012):[75]

Kingfisher Airlines Fleet

Aircraft In Fleet Total Passengers Notes

Airbus A319-133 1 VIP VIP for UB Group

Airbus A320-232 2 134

ATR 72-500 3 66

Boeing 727-044 1 VIP VIP for UB Group

Total 7

[edit]Pre-2012 Fleet

Kingfisher Airlines' fleet mainly consisted of ATR 42, ATR 72 and Airbus A320 family aircraft for

domestic and short haul services and Airbus A330-200sfor international long-haul services. The

average age of its fleet as of January 2009 was 2.3 years. All ATR's and a few aircraft from the A320

family were used for Kingfisher Red service.

Up until March 2012, Kingfisher Airlines had the following fleet:

Kingfisher Airlines Fleet[76]

Aircraft Total Orders OptionsPassengers

NotesP Y Total

Airbus A319-100 3 — — 0 144 144 All dry-leased

Airbus A320-200 10 67 — 20 114 134 11 dry-leased

Deliveries were throughout up until 20163 0 174 174

8 0 180 180

Airbus A321-2006

— —32 119 151

2 dry leased2 0 199 199

Airbus A350-800 — 5 — TBA Deliveries were planned: 2015

Airbus A380-800 — 5 5 0 0 800 Deliveries were planned: 2016

ATR 42-500 2 — — 0 48 48 All dry leased

ATR 72-50017

— 200 66 66

8 0 72 72

Total 63 77 25

[edit]Services

[edit]Cabin

[edit]Domestic

Economy class meal on board a Kingfisher Airlines domestic flight

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. Domestic

Kingfisher First is only available on selected Airbus A320 family aircraft.

Kingfisher 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

Kingfisher Red's logo

Kingfisher Airlines acquired Bangalore based low cost carrier Air Deccan in 2007,[77] changed its name

to Simplifly Deccan and subsequently converted it toKingfisher Red, Kingfisher Airline's low-cost class

on domestic routes. A special edition of Cine Blitz magazine was the only reading material provided.

Passengers could earn King Miles even when they flew Kingfisher Red, which they could redeem for

free tickets to travel on Kingfisher Airlines or partner airlines. On 28 September 2011, Vijay Mallya

announced that the company would soon stop operations of Kingfisher Red as it did not believe in low-

cost operations any longer.[78][79]

[edit]International

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.[80] 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 full-fledged 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 turn-down 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 long-haul 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 AVODtouchscreen 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 text-messages, though the service wasn't provided by

Kingfisher.

[edit]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.[81] 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.[82] 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.

[edit]King 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.

[edit]Cargo

[edit]Kingfisher Xpress

Further information: Kingfisher Xpress

Kingfisher Xpress was a 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. The service

offered a pick up facility in the 8 main metropolitan cities of India namely Mumbai, New

Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Cochin and Kolkata with guaranteed[83] same day

delivery in up to 22 cities[84] of India namely Ahmedabad, Bagdogra, Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore,

Delhi, Kochi, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Patna, Raipur, Ranchi,

Lucknow, Nagpur, Pune, Srinagar and Tiruvanathapuram.[85]

[edit]Kingfisher Lounge

Kingfisher Lounges are offered to Kingfisher First passengers, along with King Club Silver and King

Club Gold members. Lounges were 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)

[edit]Awards and achievements

This section may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject, preventing the article from being verifiable andneutral. Please help improve it by replacing them with more appropriate citations to reliable, independent, third-party sources. (September 2012)

Adrian Sutil is pursued by Lewis Hamiltonat 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.

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

Named Best Airline In India / Central Asia; Best Cabin Crew – Central Asia.

Kingfisher RED named Best Low Cost Airline in India / Central Asia.

NDTV Profit Business Leadership Award for Aviation.

Rated India's Second Buzziest Brand 2008 by The Brand Reporter.

Ranked amongst India's Top Service Brands of 2008 by Pitch Magazine.

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.

According to Kingfisher[86]

[edit]Accidents and incidents

On 10 November 2009, Flight 4124 operated by ATR 72-212A VT-KAC, skidded off the

runway after landing at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. The aircraft suffered substantial

damage, but all 46 passengers and crew escaped unharmed.[87] In November 2010,

the Directorate General of Civil Aviation released its final report into the accident. It revealed that

the cause of the accident was pilot error, with the aircraft landing at too high a speed and too far

down Runway 27A, which was the designation given to Runway 27 whilst it was being operated at

a reduced length due to the closure of Runway 14/32 for maintenance.[88]

It would be difficult to tell that Vijay Mallya is the owner of the troubled Kingfisher Airlines. While the chairman of the UB Group jets around the globe   and son Sidharthatweets about pub hour in London, the airline’s management has been unable to resolve the standoff with its employees. Is the Mallyas’ lifestyle a reason for the employees anger?“His style is always ahead of his substance. I think this is a fundamental problem. At a time like this when you have a public display of apathy and

ignorance it worries everyone. All his stakeholders are turning on him to say: Is this real?” public relations expert Dilip Cherian told CNN IBN .However, according to SC Mishra, co-coordinator of the Kingfisher Employees Union in Delhi, the only person in the airline management they still trust is Mallya, despite him choosing to stay away from meeting them.

“We are out rightly rejecting his offer. We don’t have enough trust on the top management headed by Sanjay Agarwal and Hitesh Patel. But he said that they had some faith in Dr Mallya,” Mishra said.

What is wrong with Kingfisher Airlines – Mallya or his image? AFP

“We want him to come face to face with us. Our representative will go,” Mishra said.

If he makes a good offer then the employees might accept it, he said.

But where exactly did the rot start in the airline of the ‘king of good times’?

Kapil Kaul, CEO of Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), believes it began with the acquisition of low cost carrier Deccan Airlines.

“It is a failure of the management and government. On top of that, the Deccan acquisition came at the wrong time,” he said.

However, the employees union have a different theory. They believe it was the swelling ranks of the senior management even while the airline was ailing that put the airline in a tailspin.

“He has added so many vice presidents and unnecessary officials to the company. Why was the top management continued to be paid in lakhs even after downsizing?,” Mishra said.