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Kingfisher Airlines, the carrier founded three years ago by Vijay Mallya, one of the most prominent and colourful Indian tycoons, is taking the group from the domestic Indian market on to international routes for the first time this month.
The airline is part of the UB Group, one of the world's biggest beverages groups, which is controlled by Mallya.
It is aiming to break into the exclusive ranks of the world's premium airlines, with the ambition of taking market share from the large number of international carriers including Emirates, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and British Airways, which dominate international traffic to and from India.
The two Indian carriers Air India and Jet Airways currently have barely 25 per cent of the long-haul market to and from the country. Mallya said that Kingfisher had signed an agreement with Air France Industries, the engineering division of Air France-KLM for the maintenance and technical support of its entire widebody fleet as part of a wide-ranging deal with the leading European carrier.
Kingfisher has also agreed to use Air France-KLM ground handling services for its operation at London's Heathrow Terminal 4 and has negotiated a three-year lease to use one pair of Air France-KLM take-off and landing slots at Heathrow. The other slot pair in the congested London market has come from the Heathrow slot co-ordinator.
Kingfisher has also negotiated with Airbus to defer orders for 32 A320-family short-haul jets from September 2008 to December 2010.
Global alliance
The fast-growing Indian group has not yet decided to join one of the global airline alliances, but Mallya said in an interview with the Financial Times it could be "most logical" for Kingfisher eventually to join the SkyTeam alliance led by Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines of the US, given the growing links with the French airline.
Air India has already joined the Star alliance led by Lufthansa, United Airlines and Singapore Airlines, while Jet Airways could eventually become the Indian partner of the Oneworld alliance led by British Airways and American Airlines, according to industry analysts.
Kingfisher is launching its first international route between Bangalore, the corporate headquarters of UB group and the centre of the information technology sector in India, and London Heathrow early this month.
Mallya said that a second service to Heathrow would be launched at the end of October, most probably from Mumbai.
This is the Indian route with the heaviest traffic flows, but where competition is already fierce, with four carriers - Air India, Jet Airways, BA and Virgin Atlantic fighting for share.
Kingfisher, which has an all-Airbus jet fleet, has previously placed some of the most ambitious new aircraft orders among the group of fast-growing Middle East and Asian airlines that have dominated new business won by Airbus and Boeing in the past couple of years.
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