Truly, The king of Great Times!!. Review on Kingfisher Airlines

Introduction

Ever since Air Deccan has come up with its inexpensive flight offerings, air travel has undergone a revolution in India. Recognizing the immense potential that this segment has more and more people are jumping into the fray. Kingfisher better known for beers is just one such player. Last week I got a chance to travel by Kingfisher mainly because the Air Deccan flight was full.

The Experience

The first and foremost thing that does strike about Kingfisher airlines is the catchy all red costumes of their employees. The female dress code includes mini-mini red skirts with white tops and red blazers to go with. On closer examination a skin coloured stocking is also a part of the dress code. Although the dress does seem very daring and attractive, at least for some of the heftier employees the dress just seemed to be a wee-bit too much. Myself and my wife had a good laugh at the expense of few such clowns :).

Anyhow, so we were frisked onto the plane quite conveniently. Again the color red strikes you everywhere from the kingfisher logo to the actual airplane itself. Once inside the plane the ambience and experience starts kicking in. The flight's temperature was pretty controlled and the fragrance was quite good. Amongst the first things I noted was that the skimpily clad air hostesses were actually tutoring the passengers sitting close to the emergency exits as to their role in case of an emergency and what they needed to do. Now that is something unique by any standards. In fact, I have not noticed such dilligence even in the much vaunted Singapore Airlines.

Once you take the seats, we are introduced to some of the best seating I have seen on Indian flights, better than Jet airways. In front of you there is a video panel for each seat, thus for the first time domestic flight have an inflight entertainment system comparable with the best in the world. The only other inflight entertainment system I found better was Singapore Airlines. The entertainment system is complete with audio, video and flight related channels.

Immediately on taking your seats each passenger gets a flight kit containing essentials like scented face napkins, trendy red ear phones, a set of different tea mixtures (it included, ginger, masala and ordinary). Anyhow once you setup your red ear phones, you get to hear from the man himself. I am talking about Vijay Mallya who welcomes you onto the flight and tells you about the mission statement of Kingfisher Airlines which is safety first, which justifies the briefings of the air hosstesses. Once the booming baritone of the liquor baron is done with we see a presentation of the security drill on the screen.

Then the flight took off. I usually get a slight ear pain everytime a flight takes off especially if the plan is going up very fast without breaks for straight flight. But, I experienced minimal pain in the take off and the landing thus again putting it on par with my experience with international airlines.

Then food was served on the flight and I must say that is one of the better in flight food that I have tasted. Only once prior have I been able to enjoy inflight meals and that was when I travelled by Jet airways on the mumbai-hyderabad circuit. Unfortunately, before the beverages could be served we had reached the destination and hence that portion remained untested!!

Comparison with peers

1. In terms of price: The market leader in terms of pricing in the Indian flights is without doubt Air Deccan. Kingfisher Airlines has chosen an interesting pricing policy. On some of the more popular routes the prices are very competitive and close to Air Deccan and definitely much less than Jet Airways. In fact, for the flight I had taken the difference between Air Deccan and Kingfisher Airlines was just Rs. 600 compared to a massive 1800 with Jet Airways.

2. Flight comfort and Seating: Believe me in this aspect Kingfisher is the best and is comparable with the best in International market as well.

3. In Flight services: Again the best in Indian parlance and one of the best in International parlance. The inflight entertainment system is one of the best in the world.

4. Security: Again the briefings etc. seem to indicate it to be the best in India. All seats have a inflattable jackets attached to them in cases of emergency unlike most other Indian flights.

5. Overall Flight Experience: The punchline could not have been better King of Good times. The overall experience has been the best for me. Of course, this being a shorter flight and the fact that it is trying to establish itself might have something to do with it. But I am not complaining.

Summary

Costing marginally over Air Deccan, Kingfisher Airlines brings the best of the flight experiences to the Indian public. I would like to give this airlines a big thumbs up and a five star rating.

Way to go, Mr. Mallya, The King of Good times.