Kingfisher Airlines to fly on 7 more international routes

New Kingfisher flights from New Delhi to London, Bangkok, Dubai, Hong Kong

Kingfisher Airlines, the privately owned airline based in India, has obtained the government’s approval to operate flights on 7 more international routes.

The airline said it has got permission to operate new services from New Delhi to London, Bangkok, Dubai and Hong Kong; and from Mumbai to Bangkok, Colombo and Dubai.

The airline said it will use Airbus A330 aircraft to fly from New Delhi to London and Hong Kong, and the Airbus A320 on the other sectors.

Kingfisher Airlines, which launched its international operations in September 2008, currently operates 7 international services – from Mumbai to London, Singapore and Hong Kong; from Kolkata to Dhaka and Bangkok; from Chennai to Colombo; and from Bangalore to Dubai.

The new services will double the overseas operations Kingfisher Airlines, which is the only India-based airline given Five Star rating by Skytrax.

The dates for launching the new flights shall be announced later, Vijay Mallya, chairman and chief executive of Kingfisher Airlines, said in a statement.

The airline is likely to add new aircraft to its fleet sooner than had been initially planned, in order to expand its international operations, Vijay Mallya added.

At present, Kingfisher Airlines has a fleet of 68 Airbus aircraft.

Vijay Mallya said in the statement that Kingfisher Airlines is seeking “several options” to raise funds, adding that the airline’s plans “are on track.” However, he did not elaborate on this.

According to Mallya, the proposed launching of the 7 new international services is expected to boost further Kingfisher Airlines’ global route network. With the new services to overseas destinations, the airline can leverage further its “unparalleled” domestic route network in order to maximise yields, Mallya explained in the statement.

Kingfisher Airlines at present has a total debt of Rs 65 billion. The airline had said in 2009 that it will consider raising $80 million-$100 million through rights issue, to be followed by issuing global depository receipts. The funds thus raised will be mainly unitlisesd to pay back debts, the airline had said.

The airline registered losses of Rs 1,608 crore in the last financial year. Besides, its accumulated losses in the present financial year went up to Rs 1,075 crore from Rs 1,054 crore in the previous financial year.

Meanwhile, Kingfisher Airlines, a part of the brewery and liquor major UB Group, has hired Seabury Aviation and Aerospace, the advisory firm based in the United States, to advise on the airline’s restructuring and improving its performance.

Kingfisher Airlines is the only listed airline in India to have incurred losses in the current financial year’s third quarter. Jet Airways and SpiceJet, the other two India-based listed airlines, had earned profits in the third quarter, after having suffered losses in the first 2 quarters.

Media reports quoted a source as saying that Kingfisher Airlines decided to hire Seabury Aviation and Aerospace after the airline’s management understood that managing an airline is different from running a brewery business and that the carrier’s losses could not be checked.

The primary task of the United States-based advisory firm will be to detect “loopholes” in the functioning of the airline as well as of the management and suggest corrective measures, the source added.