Kingfisher Air aims for the regal touch

Bangalore: Kingfisher Airlines, controlled by the Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya, expects to post its first quarterly profit next fiscal year as it wins more business class travelers.
Kingfisher, which charges almost twice as much on some routes as rival Deccan Aviation, is trying to lure passengers with amenities including live cricket broadcasts and valet service, Ravi Nedungadi, chief financial officer of Kingfisher's parent company, UB Group, said in an interview in Bangalore on Monday.
Mallya is betting that India's middle class, at about 350 million people and growing, will opt for more luxurious service as the country's wages grow at the fastest pace in the Asia-Pacific region.
Kingfisher's share of the Indian civil aviation industry is expected to expand to about 10 percent by March 31, from about 8 percent now, according to the Indian unit of the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation.
06/09/06 Chitra Somayaji/Bloomberg News/International Herald Tribune, France

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