Kingfisher may hit foreign turf by mid-2008

Bangalore: Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines may be able to fly international routes from India by mid-2008 with the civil aviation ministry considering relaxing the eligibility norm for allowing Indian carriers to operate on overseas sectors.
A source close to the ministry said talks on the issue were moving in the right direction and the current five-year flying experience criteria for a carrier to operate international flights may be brought down to three years.
A Kingfisher spokesperson said, “Yes, talks with government are positive. We may be able to start international operations on our own by the middle of 2008. We will complete three years of operations in May, 2008.”
If the government revises the eligibility norm, it would fit Kingfisher’s design of flying overseas by 2008, when it takes delivery of its first wide-bodied aircraft - A340-500. The airline plans to deploy the aircraft on the Bangalore-San Francisco and Mumbai-New York sectors.
04/10/06 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

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