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| Founded | 2004 | ||||||
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| Hubs | Bangalore International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 18 | ||||||
| Destinations | 17 | ||||||
| Parent company | UB Group | ||||||
| Headquarters | Bangalore, India | ||||||
| Key people | Dr. Vijay Mallya,CMD | ||||||
| Website | http://www.flykingfisher.com | ||||||
Kingfisher Airlines is an airline based in Bangalore, India. Services started on 9 May 2005, following the lease of 4 Airbus A320 aircraft. It initially operates only on domestic routes. The airline is owned by United Beverages Group under the leadership of Vijay Mallya (which also owns the popular Indian beer of the same name) . The airline promises to suit the needs of air travellers and to provide reasonable air fares.
Kingfisher Airlines operates services to the following domestic scheduled destinations :
Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Goa, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Cochin, Guwahati, Kolkata, Pune, Agartala, Dibrugarh, Mangalore, Srinagar, Vishakhapatnam and Jaipur.
Kingfisher are pushing for an amendment of the present Indian government rule which requires an airline to fly a minimum of five years on domestic routes before it can start flying overseas. Barring such an amendment their first international flights are planned to start in 2010. [1]
Kingfisher claims to offer: World Class In-Flight Entertainment, Extra-Wide Seats and Spacious Legroom, Great Food, International-Class Cabin Crew , Doorstep Delivery of Tickets On Request
The airline was the first in India to initially and continues to operate with all new aircraft.
On 18 February 2005 Kingfisher Airlines signed a contract with Airbus for three Airbus A319 aircraft, adding to the 10 Airbus A320 aircraft (plus twenty options) ordered in January 2005. The first of the A319s will be delivered in December 2005, complementing the A320s on routes to smaller cities in India. (ref: Air International April 2005)
On June 15 2005 it became the first Indian airline to order the Airbus A380. It placed orders for 5 A380s, 5 Airbus A350-800 aircraft and 5 Airbus A330-200 aircraft in a deal valued at over $3 billion. Delivery of the A330s is due to start in late 2007, followed by the A380s in 2010 and the A350s in 2012.[2]
On November 20, 2005 at the Dubai Air Show, Kingfisher Airlines announced that it would be buying 20 ATR 72-500s (plus 15 options). The deal is estimated to be worth $500 million dollars with the deliveries starting from March 2006. The last of the 20 planes would be handed over to Kingfisher Airlines by 2008. The first aircraft from that order was delivered to the airlines on March 31, 2006.
On November 21, 2005 at the same air show, Kingfisher Airlines placed an order to acquire 30 more A320s in a deal estimated to be worth $2 billion. Engine making joint venture International Aero Engines (IAE) will supply the engines for the planes. Deliveries for the planes are likely to start from 2008.
On January 13, 2006 an Airbus 319 of Kingfisher Airlines was the first aircraft in that class to land on the short older runway at Mangalore airport. [1]
On the April 24, 2006, Kingfisher signed a contract for five Airbus A340-500 HGWs.The airline plans to use this for its Bangalore-San Francisco and Mumbai-New York route. Delivery is expected for 2008.
India’s Kingfisher Airlines has sold two Airbus A321s to Pegasus Aviation Finance in a sale and lease-back deal.
US-based Pegasus says in a statement that the two new-build A321-200s that are being prepared for delivery to Kingfisher will be the first of the stretched A320-family variant in India. Kingfisher already leases one A320 from Pegasus. (ref.: Air Transport Intelligence news. Oct/2006).