Kingfisher Airlines

Kingfisher Airlines
IATA code :	IT
ICAO code :	KFR
Call sign :	KINGFISHER
Founding:	2004
Operation stopped:	2012
Seat:	Mumbai , India
Home airport :	Mumbai and Bengaluru
Management:	Sanjay Aggarwal ( CEO )
Alliance :	no
Frequent Flyer Program :	King Club
Fleet size:	30 (+ 39 orders)
Aims:	National and international
Website:	www.flykingfisher.com
Kingfisher Airlines ceased operations in 2012. The information in italics refer to the last status before the end of operation.

Kingfisher Airlines was an Indian airline based in Bangalore and based at the local Bengaluru International Airport . It was owned by the Indian multinational United Breweries Group . It shared the name and some logo elements with the parent company's Kingfisher beer brand . On October 20, 2012, the airline's license was revoked by the Indian Air Traffic Control Authority after the company had long made major losses.

history

The airline, which was founded in 2004 by Vijay Mallya , the chairman of the United Brewery Group , and started operations on May 9, 2005, flew to 65 national and seven international destinations in its peak phase. Along with the takeover of the competitor Air Deccan , an expansion was announced, after which flights to neighboring countries, Europe and North America were planned.

Kingfisher Airlines was the official partner of the Formula 1 team Panasonic Toyota Racing until December 31, 2007 and, since the 2008 season, the sponsor of the Force India Formula One team , in which Vijay Mallya is also involved.

In February 2010 it was announced that Kingfisher was aiming to join the oneworld aviation alliance . This should initially take place in the course of 2011, but was then postponed to February 2012.

Kingfisher Airlines also owned the low-cost airline Kingfisher Red , which, however, was dissolved as part of a conceptual realignment.

Crisis from 2011

Kingfisher check-in counter in Delhi (2009)

In August 2011, it became known that Kingfisher was unable to pay employees' salaries for July 2011, and payments to suppliers and service providers were pending. In November it became known that 130 pilots had left the company at short notice at their own request, which led to massive flight cancellations. There are also said to have been further financial claims from numerous service providers, and the first aircraft were also reclaimed from the lessors due to unpaid installments . In December 2011, 15 aircraft had to be temporarily parked as planned maintenance work could not be paid for.

On February 3, 2012, joining the oneworld aviation alliance , planned for February 10, was suspended for an indefinite period due to the unclear financial situation. In March, British Airways suspended the codeshare agreement with Kingfisher, while at the same time an Airbus A330 was returned to the lessor on an unscheduled basis in order to reduce the costs of long-haul operations. In addition, around two dozen other machines were decommissioned.

On October 2, 2012, Kingfisher temporarily suspended all flights due to unrest among the workforce over months of unpaid wages.

On October 20, 2012, the airline's license was revoked. This came after Kingfisher presented the government with a plan for how to proceed with the airline. However, it said nothing about how flight operations should be continued safely and reliably. Instead, they asked for more time until the license was withdrawn, but the government refused.

At the end of December 2012 it became known that Vijay Mallya, the owner of Kingfisher, wanted to invest enough money in the airline to be able to resume flight operations. Initially, a fleet of seven machines was to be used. However, large debts had to be paid off and the license regained before the start of operations. However, the Indian authorities announced that the company's license had expired.

Meanwhile, the Indian financial police had issued an arrest warrant for Vijay Mallya, who had fled to the UK while the company's accounts were apparently now undetectable.

Destinations

Kingfisher served a very dense network of numerous destinations within India, including Hyderabad , Raipur , Ahmedabad , Pune and Udaipur , before ceasing flight operations . The flights to all international destinations, including, for example, Dubai and Bangkok or London , were suspended until further notice in April 2012 due to the airline's financially very tight situation.

fleet

An Airbus A319-100 of Kingfisher

A Kingfisher ATR 72-500

By 2013, the Kingfisher Airlines fleet consisted of 30 aircraft.

Aircraft type	active	ordered	Remarks
Airbus A319CJ	01		Business jet operated for the United Brewery Group
Airbus A320-200	17th	24
Airbus A321-200	08th
Airbus A330-200		15th
ATR 42-500	03
Boeing 727-100	01		Business jet
total	30th	39

Incidents

The crashed ATR 72-500 ( identification VT-KAC )

• On November 10, 2009, an ATR 72-500 ( registration number VT-KAC ) with 38 passengers and a crew of four on board had an accident en route from Bhavnagar to Mumbai while landing in Mumbai. Nobody was harmed, but the plane had to be written off.

Trivia

• Kingfisher is the English name for kingfishers , such a bird is shown in the company coat of arms.
• Until the beginning of 2012, Kingfisher Airlines was one of the seven best airlines in the world according to Skytrax with a rating of five out of five stars (subjectively).

See also

• Former Airlines List (Asia)

Web links

Commons : Kingfisher Airlines  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Ulrich Klee, Frank Bucher et al .: jp airline-fleets international 2008/09 . Sutton, UK, 2008, p. 609.
2. ↑ http://www.aerotelegraph.com/kingfisher-airlines- Los- license
3. ↑ aero.de: Kingfisher joins oneworld February 23, 2010
4. ↑ oneworld.com - India's Kingfisher Airlines to be part of oneworld  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) December 19, 2011  
5. ↑ bbc.co.uk - Kingfisher to exit budget airline business (English) September 28, 2011
6. ↑ business-standard.com - After Air India, Kingfisher delays salary payment (English) August 14, 2011
7. ↑ indiatimes.com - Kingfisher airlines crisis: 130 pilots quit, 149 flights canceled (English) November 11, 2011
8. ↑ eturbonews.com - Kingfisher cannot afford maintenance, grounds 15 planes (English) December 18, 2011
9. ↑ aero.de - Kingfisher's Oneworld recording postponed February 3, 2012
10. ↑ thehindubusinessline.com - British Airways, Kingfisher code share pact suspended (English) March 13, 2012
11. ↑ flightglobal.com - Kingfisher curtails 'bleeding' overseas widebody operations (English) March 14, 2012
12. ↑ ch-aviation.ch - Kingfisher Airlines (English) accessed on May 6, 2012
13. ↑ Anurag Kotoky: Kingfisher flights grounded by staff unrest. Reuters India, October 1, 2012, accessed October 4, 2012 . 
14. ↑ Kingfisher extends lockout by another 3 days. In: The Times of India . October 4, 2012, accessed October 4, 2012 . 
15. ↑ http://www.aerotelegraph.com/kingfisher-airlines- Los- license
16. ↑ http://www.aerotelegraph.com/erneuerungsplan-kingfisher-airlines-neustart-details-zu-flotte
17. ↑ blick.ch - Indebted Indian airline Kingfisher loses license January 1, 2013
18. ↑ Kingfisher Airlines Books Disappeared , Retrieved July 11, 2016
19. ↑ airliners.de - Kingfisher wants to suspend international flights March 21, 2012
20. ↑ airbus.com - Orders & deliveries (English) accessed on March 9, 2012
21. ↑ Flight accident data and report ATR-72-212A (ATR-72-500) VT-KAC Mumbai-Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (BOM) in the Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on November 14, 2016.