Kingfisher readies for overseas flight

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New Delhi, Aug 8: While it is still unclear when Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines will fly abroad, the third largest carrier by market share is wasting no time in getting all the infrastructure ready at the overseas destinations it plans to fly to.

Kingfisher has tied up with the Netherlands based KLM for slots at London’s Heathrow airport, which it expects to make its first long-haul destination when it starts international flights from India later this year.

Kingfisher has already obtained an initial pair of slots from the Heathrow co-ordinator, but is negotiating to take over a second pair of slots from KLM.

The Dutch aviation major has said it planned to suspend its Rotterdam-Heathrow service in order to lease out the slots. It was seeking to maximise its slot portfolio and was talking to various parties.

The European carrier has also announced a partnership with Kingfisher Airlines for its new reciprocal frequent flyer program though the name of the program is not known yet.

Passengers flying on either of the carriers including KLM, Air France and Northwest Airlines will get benefits like combination fares, e-ticket interlinability and through check-in. “The agreements are already in place, combining travel on Kingfisher and Air France, KLM or Northwest is more convenient than ever before,” a source close to the development said.

Kingfisher Airlines may also soon boast of a formidable Dutch connection, by opting for Amsterdam as its European hub along with the Dutch carrier as code-share partner for its international operations.

Kingfisher’s international operations, are expected to commence by the later part week of September and is likely to operate through Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.

Kingfisher is reportedly going to commence international services from Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Chennai using a European airport as its hub while a major part of its international flights are expected to be long-haul direct flights. According to analysts, they will need a hub and spoke model as yields will not be high enough on direct long haul routes thereby putting severe pressure on the domestic carriers balance sheet.

This tie up between Kingfisher is also seen as a success for the Dutch Government’s many initiatives in inviting Indian companies to set up their businesses in Amsterdam. Already, two Indian carriers, Jet Airways and Air India, have made Europe their operational hubs. While Jet operates out of Brussels, Air India has opted for Munich.