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Tunia Cherian George

Mumbai , March 23

AFTER completing the successful deal with Shaw Wallace, Mr Vijay Mallya has now donned the pilot's cap to see yet another project to fruition - the launch of Kingfisher Airlines.

In an interaction with Business Line the day after the Shaw Wallace acquisition, he says the airline will launch as planned on May 7, with the first commercial flight scheduled for May 9.

The launch date is significant. According to an industry source, it is also his son's 18th birthday.

According to Mr Mallya, the airline will cover centres such as Mumbai, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai out of Bangalore, before extending operations to other regions.

It will take delivery of its first aircraft from Airbus on Friday and hopes to have 12 aircraft on its fleet by January next year.

Driving home the point that his airline is not a "low-cost" one, he points out that Kingfisher Airlines has adopted the JetBlue business model of a value carrier.

Fares would be competitive and pegged 15-20 per cent lower than that offered by Jet. However, it would address all segments of the market, he said.

The all-new Airbus fleet, comprising A320 and A319 aircraft, would offer the customer value for money with in-flight entertainment and every seat coming with an individual video screen. The aircraft, equipped with the most modern features such as a paperless cockpit, would have ACARS (Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System) that would monitor flight parameters on a real-time basis, providing early signals of any deviation in flight parameters, thus facilitating quick turnarounds, he said.

Though the demand for pilots has suddenly shot up with the launch of many new carriers, Kingfisher seems to have met its current requirement. According to Mr Mallya, the airline has recruited 42 pilots and 90 crew members so far.

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