Defunct airlines of India - Part 2
Last week we published the first part of our series on Defunct Airlines of India, in which we covered some stalwarts and fresh approach in the form of Vayudoot, Damania Airways and Skyline NEPC. This week, we take a look at two airlines that entered the market with very different - in fact, extreme - approaches. But almost as if to prove that opposites attract, eventually came together. We're talking about Air Deccan and Kingfisher.
Formed at a time when Internet technology was growing in India, Air Deccan offered a slew of firsts, such as fare sales, Re 1 tickets, free seating, etc. They pioneered online ticketing - what was up until till then, the domain of travel agents.
Gradual because the operational integration took place first before the corporate merger. In fact, in order to maximise on tax breaks, it was Kingfisher that merged into Deccan (and not the other way round, as one would expect, though the commercials moved in the opposite direction).
They ran briefly under Deccan colours (as Kingfisher Red) after changing hands, though continuing to and were shortly re-branded as Kingfisher Red, before financial woes brought down the main carrier as well.
The Paris Air show had them announcing a slew of orders for everything ranging from Airbus' then new A380 behemoth, to the A340, A330 & a whole load of 320s. This, in addition to the fleet they acquired later from Air Deccan, which included ATR-42s and ATR-72s.
Kingfisher even had codeshare agreements, a rarity at the time, with international airlines such as American Airlines, Asiana Airlines and Philippine Airlines. Over time, the airline won various awards, including Freddie Awards in the regional category (Japan, Pacific, Asia and Australia region.)
Sadly, in a twist that's now becoming as predictable as a Bollywood movie storyline, the spending far outweighed takings.
Pic credits: Wikipedia, Frontline.in, Travelobservers.com
- Vinay
Air Deccan (2003-2008) ...
...was founded by the father of low cost aviation in India, Capt. GR Gopinath. Air Deccan was the India’s first true low cost carrier, with a vision to make air travel a reality to every Indian.
Formed at a time when Internet technology was growing in India, Air Deccan offered a slew of firsts, such as fare sales, Re 1 tickets, free seating, etc. They pioneered online ticketing - what was up until till then, the domain of travel agents. Deccan also became one of the first airlines to offer on-aircraft advertising.
They operated a fleet of Airbus A320s, ATR-42s and ATR-72s, with a peak fleet size of 40, and more on order, all in a single-class configuration.
Their ambition was to get a record number of Indians up in the skies, while focussing on serving small and underserved airports in the country.
Over 2007 and 2008, a gradual merger took place between Air Deccan and Kingfisher Airlines, owned by the once-king-of-good-times, Vijay Mallya. The main idea behind this was for Kingfisher to be able to start international operations on the backing of Deccan's experience in Indian aviation, based on the applicable rules at the time.
Gradual because the operational integration took place first before the corporate merger. In fact, in order to maximise on tax breaks, it was Kingfisher that merged into Deccan (and not the other way round, as one would expect, though the commercials moved in the opposite direction). They ran briefly under Deccan colours (as Kingfisher Red) after changing hands, though continuing to and were shortly re-branded as Kingfisher Red, before financial woes brought down the main carrier as well.
Kingfisher Airlines (2005-2012) ...
... is probably best known as what brought down Vijay Mallya in the eyes of the Indian investment community and business circles. Launched amidst much pomp and fanfare, Kingfisher made a rather strong bid to be the number one full service carrier in the Indian skies.
Indian aviation at that point looked like it had truly arrived.
With in-flight entertainment in all seats, meals with proper cutlery, small goodie bags for economy class passengers as well and a whole host of bells and whistles for the premium cabin passengers (think Salvatore Ferragamo amenity kits on international business class) ensured Kingfisher was the talk of the town.
The Paris Air show had them announcing a slew of orders for everything ranging from Airbus' then new A380 behemoth, to the A340, A330 & a whole load of 320s. This, in addition to the fleet they acquired later from Air Deccan, which included ATR-42s and ATR-72s.
They even kicked off flights to London and Hong Kong once the A330s came in.
Kingfisher even had codeshare agreements, a rarity at the time, with international airlines such as American Airlines, Asiana Airlines and Philippine Airlines. Over time, the airline won various awards, including Freddie Awards in the regional category (Japan, Pacific, Asia and Australia region.) Sadly, in a twist that's now becoming as predictable as a Bollywood movie storyline, the spending far outweighed takings.
Things started pointing nose down thereafter, to the extent that many employees weren't paid for several months. It wasn't long before they had to bring operations to a grinding halt.
The airlines is still in the news these days although for all the wrong reasons. There continue to be allegations against Mallya, of financial mismangement, impropriety and siphoning off of funds taken as bank loans.
For all your spotters, there are a few of Kingfisher’s ATR, mostly minus the engines at some of the remote stands in Chennai, if you’re up for a lookup.
Pic credits: Wikipedia, Frontline.in, Travelobservers.com
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