KF int'l ops.... ???

[alpha474]

someone told me KF was startin their Int'l Ops this month...?? what's up with that? and can someone confirm the following...

1) KF not planning on Direct Routes... they also want to change stratergy and go via a european hub... ala Jet Airways...

2) A430 purchase plans not looking good cuz if they wanna do hun n spoke... 330s the one they wanna get...

3) he's already sold 1 340 from France.... doesnt want the delivery of that.
4) Int'l plans could be delayed till next year!!!??!!!:eek:

in my own view... one thing about KF's Int'l plans..BAD TIMING!!!:=

[jet_air]

Here s U R Answer !

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/photo.cms?msid=3239333

LONDON: Kingfisher Airlines, with its funky stand-up bars, massage chairs personally designed by Vijay Mallya and its ubiquitous hordes of red-clad girls, is going ahead with its slew of international flight plans despite the downturn in the aviation industry—London first, followed by San Francisco, maybe New York, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Middle-East. However, it is planning to go slow on its hectic aircraft acquisition plan for domestic sector. “After comprehensive review of our domestic network, we may not want as many narrow-bodied aircraft as we had initially estimated,” said company chairman Vijay Mallya. Kingfisher has about $7 billion worth of new aircraft on the way.

Showing off his brand new wide-bodied Airbus A330-200 at the Farnborough air show in England, Mr Mallya is confident that despite the downturn, Kingfisher can make an impact with its trademark five-star positioning on key routes—with a focus on more direct and non-stop flights from its Bangalore hub to overseas destinations. Bangalore is still not as well served as Mumbai or Delhi with direct flights to London or the west Coast of the US.

One key route that Kingfisher wants to focus on is Bangalore-San Francisco non-stop, which Mr Mallya said “is a no brainer, it will link the Silicon Valley and the Silicon plateau”. However, he is looking very closely at the economics of a New York-Bangalore non-stop, as it is already a crowded route; and indications are it may be dropped. US services will start latest by September-October this year, “as one can’t keep the planes sitting on the ground”, Mr Mallya said. While it is still in the planning stages, his strategy is to use the narrow-bodied medium haul A320 series aircraft for “all nearby destinations, starting with Bangalore-Singapore, and moving on as many destinations in the Middle-East and the Far East as is feasible”.

Despite ‘burning’ oil prices ‘burning’ cash at Kingfisher—though he won’t give any financials:=—Mr Mallya insisted that India is a unique aviation market, and the airline industry could still break even without the sales tax on aviation fuel. About expanding at a time when most airlines are cutting down, Mr Mallya said: “I’ve done plenty of crazy things in my life;), and we’ll let our product speak for itself,” he said.

Kingfisher launches its Bangalore-Heathrow direct and Mumbai-Heathrow direct services any day between August 31 and September 3. While for Bangalore-Heathrow non-stop British Airways is the only competitor, Mr Mallya believes that the traffic on the Mumbai-London route is enough to enter that crowded route as well. “London is a must destination for all Indians:confused:,” he said. Besides, thanks to a last minute cancellation, Kingfisher has been lucky enough to acquire good slots at Heathrow; meaning convenient landing and take-off timings for passengers.

He isn’t yet revealing his pricing strategy:E, “as many of my competitors are lurking around Farnborough, it won’t be the cheapest, but you’ll get what you pay for”. The market expectation is that Kingfisher will be competitively priced in the economy class, but be slightly higher than the average business and first-class important of competitors like Jet and BA. One of the key innovations that Kingfisher is introducing is a stand-up bar lounge in its ‘super’ business class:D. Mr Mallya, getting nostalgic about the swish bar lounges that old 747s had on their upper deck, said the ‘romance’ of air travel has been replaced by economics.

A similar stand-up area and lounge for economy passengers on ultra-long haul flights is on the cards when Kingfisher acquires its mammoth Airbus A380s:rolleyes:, but that’s only after 2010. Unfortunately, none of this will be available to domestic passengers since these aircraft cannot be landed or parked at domestic airports.:8


:ok: Jet Air

[alpha474]

oh jet air.... my akhbaar wala also throws in a copy of the economic times and TOI everyday, so i did read all the CRAP KF PR guys throw in the news now and agin...

Here at PPRUNE, we all share the real insider's juice about various companies, just to make a genuine opinion about the companies from an employee perspective. and base our next move in aviation on these things amongst others.

so anyone with some real insider stuff on KF int'l, he's more than welcome.... no PR please!!!:=

[jet_air]

:rolleyes:.. Oh I am sorry i didnt know that u werent interested in what TOI said.
..
Also did i forget to tell i fly the bus for kingfisher;) !
:ok:Jet Air.

[condorbaaz]

Which bus do you fly? 320 0r the 330/340

[Holycow]

Hi, an insiders view - nobody at KFA knows right now what is gonna happen with Int'l ops. I've heard we pay a damn big money for A-340s being parked at the French apron. But due to oil prices we are not gonna take them (non-stop flights to US not on the plan right now), and since they are very specific furnished nobody else wants them...
330 I have seen already in Bangalore, I believe they already fly them on domestic as line-training. But no official information about the long haul routes to fly, although it is almost end of July. So if they start flying them to Europe in September, I expect them to be empty, unless they sell tickets for 0.99 usd plus tax.
To summarize this - Int'l operations is gonna be "well" managed as everything at KFA, and Dr. Mallya better prepares a thick check-book, since he will sign a lot of checks to pay for this "Intl theater" in the near future !

[jet_air]

Huh its too early for me to fly the biggies.. we ve got our expat brothers to do that..:zzz:..So am settled with a single aisle mediums haul turbo fan plane for now.
:ok:Jet Air.

[jet_air]

Was the 330 in Bangalore:confused: i thought i saw it in Chennai ! i think it was VT-VJB ! neways i only care abt VT-KF.. Series;)

[Holycow]

I think we saw the same 330, IN BLR it was about 3 weeks back - when it arrived from France I guess.

[320capt.]

There are now two 330's in india. They are doing training flights. The sectors thay are flying are BLR-MMV & BLR-HYD once in a while they also do BLR-BOM.

[condorbaaz]

plan to fly to HK, SIN and LHR from Sep onwards

[haree]

KFA has 2 A330s stationed in bangalore. As per media they are gonna start BLR-LHR from Sept 3. Bookings havent started yet. No idea how they;re gonna sell seats on international sector in less than a fortnight..

Haree

[swad]

Called up reservations yesterday as inventory not listed online yet. Asked if they have started selling and was told yes. Asked for LHR-BLR-LHR prices, was told no launch promos and most interestingly was quoted a fare in INR instead of GBP. Base Fare INR 39570 (INR 45737 all inc).

[condorbaaz]

Check the Net @ www.flykingfisher.com (http://www.flykingfisher.com). for the fares.

Indian Company, Indian website, Fuel paid in INR hence fare in INR.

This form the man who bougt back the historic Sword of some one back to india.

Maybe qualifies as INDIAN pride....

[ecureilx]

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Tipu's sword back in Indian hands (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3609205.stm)

It was a symbol of one of India's last warrior being defeated by the British.

By the way, is it only GDS folks referring to Kingfisher as IT ??? :ouch: :ouch:

[kargokobra]

Congrats on launch of international flight :ok:.Beleive the interior is a style statment.He has the guts and pockets to give JET run for their money. AI is not even in the race.:ugh::ugh::ugh:.