KINGFISHER AIRLINES Review

15th of February 2006 - 5.00 am - standing outside Santa Cruz’s Terminal B - those late valentine wishes still poured in. I was nearing the end of my halt at Mumbai en-route to Bangalore from

Dubai - and I was with a good friend (we call him Doc), filling up the 5-year communication gap.

and boom! - in walked 5 objects of desire, clothed (... well, almost!) in red, those famed Flying Models of Kingfisher Airlines - carrying their smiles really naturally, well aware of the crowd burning their sights into them.

It was ditch-Doc-time ... I wished him a good day and hurried off to check in. Both MSians and other friends erected a good reputation of the Good Times - and they weren’t wrong.

There are no passengers on Kingfisher Airlines. I was treated as a guest, referred to as a guest - even the public announcements go: ’’ All Guests travelling to Bangalore, please proceed to Gate 9’’

In order of occurence, here is my experience with KingFisher Airlines, their staff, the A320 and the Flying Models:

the Check-In Counter

Fast. Accurate. Warm. No hassles - they handled even the fussy customers with equal care and comfort. Most men would forget their fuss if a face like those Flying Models would smile back at them anyways. Mallya’s done a good job with the recruitment - I was misguided by people that the staff’s looks match their stupidity, but most of the ground staff are both classy and smart. If nothing, they’re street-smart, can communicate well and can carry themselves very well even if they’re not as hot as the Flying Models.

I asked for a window seat, which was a bad choice - as I leant from my first experience in a year with sizzling Indian sunshine.

Boarding the flight

Eager and skilled ground-staff who breathe life into the ’’guests versus customer’’ idealogy. We were transported to the Airbus in an KingFisher A/C Bus that was spacious - the ride was smooth, not a trace of stink.

The Flight

Airborne pleasure, brilliant interiors, good temperature control, very spacious seating with good use of technology. The temperature was VERY nicely controlled before take-off - most flights miss out on that. They’ve got excellent in-flight entertainment, some rocking music but not the best of RJs. Cricket maniacs can logon to some recent gripping India-Pakistan ODIs, you also have the Pooja Bedi interviews show and the Great Indian Laughter challenge as well.

The food was tasty and apt - the welcome packs consisted of a useful pair of earphones, a half-decent pen and two microcakes of fresh peppermint.

They do well to take and act upon customer feedback at the end of the flight, and that’s what I’d love to see in other flights - improved interaction with the passen... er ... guests.

The Flying Models

Visually pleasing to say the least, these girls are no doubt pretty and packaged well - they combine professionalism and service pretty well. But a lot of the image has to do with the media hype around them, and Mallya’s marketed them really well. I’ve heard he hand-picks most of these girls on board. It’s not just about looks - it’s the service that matters, and these girls did an excellent job.

At times I pity them - many of these hotties might be well qualified and talented enough to reap a better harvest in jobs better suited to them, but then again, there are the ambitious who love to live the high-life, literally - and here’s an excellent opportunity to mix work with pleasure and get the highest levels of satisfaction.

... and Mr. Mallya

What Kingfisher review is complete without mention of the man himself? The essence of Vijay Mallya’s brands is lustful appeal, he generously adds seductive content, if you may say, to the packages that spark his product to create hype, making them the ’’talk of the towns’’. Mallya’s worship of entertainment is high with fondness for lust, and this is clearly evident and has a lot of his success can be attributed to these bits and pieces of skin-show - the flying models, Yana Gupta and the Swimsuit calendar are testimony to that.

I’m not Mallya’s greatest fan, but using skin-show for marketing is a creative concept, and well marketed. Mallya’s done very well to throw this all up as hospitality rather than vulgarity, and he’s done well so far. There are many who would criticize the models’ outfits, or the hoardings, or even a sultry-faced Yana Gupta’s flight demonstration video.

the final words ...

... however, most would agree that brand KingFisher seduces the affluent into flying the good times pretty well. The cost is worth the comfortable flight with bump-free take offs and landings ... let’s not forget the fresh ambience, refreshing music, and almost nothing to add to travel-stress and jet-lag. Oh - and you’re treated equal - KingFisher class you see. No going green with envy at those Business Class passengers anymore!

If Kingfisher Airlines can keep up these good times, they can add another dimension to India’s domestic aviation industry. If you can shell down a couple of hundred bucks more, it’s a better choice than Jet, Air Deccan, Sahara. None of my flights were delayed, so no comment on the punctuality.