The Hindu Business Line : ‘Air Deccan, Kingfisher Airlines board meet on Dec 19’

New Delhi, Dec. 3 The boards of Air Deccan and Kingfisher Airlines are to meet in Bangalore on December 19 to consider the Accenture report on how best to bring about synergies between the two airlines, the Chairman, Kingfisher Airlines, Mr Vijay Mallya, said on Monday.

Speaking to newspersons on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit here, Mr Mallya said that a final decision on what should be done with both the airlines would be taken after the meeting.

“Everyone has a different opinion on the best way forward. Some say merger is best, others say it is not. That is why we decided to appoint Accenture to look at bringing about operational synergies, rationalise routes and look at future co-operation.

“At the moment, it would be premature to say whether both the brands would exist or not. I do not believe in waiting and if there are no major problems the report would be implemented at the earliest,” Mr Mallya said.

In May, the UB Group picked up a 26 per cent stake in Deccan Aviation and subsequently, acquired another 20 per cent stake through an open offer, thereby, making it the largest single shareholder.

Kingfisher Airlines, which has ordered 10 widebody aircraft, would look to operate non-stop flights between Bangalore and both San Francisco and New York, apart from flying to London and some other destinations, while Air Deccan aircraft could be used as a low-cost option to operate flights to South-East Asia and the Gulf region, Mr Mallya added.

Asked how Kingfisher Airlines would fly abroad as it did not meet the laid down criteria, Mr Mallya said that the Ministry of Civil Aviation had communicated that this should not be a problem.

“The airline has already applied to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for permission to fly abroad,” he added.

At the moment, Government guideline stipulates that an airline should have a fleet of 20 aircraft and completed five years of domestic operations before it is allowed to operate abroad. Kingfisher Airlines completes three years of operations next year, while Air Deccan completes five years of operations next year.