WINE AND DINE ON THE WINGS

Being branded as the ‘king of good times’, Bangalore’s very own business magnate Vijay Mallya surely knows a thing or two about auspicious timing. On Ganesha Chaturthi, his dream of spreading wings across the seas took wings as his Kingfisher Airlines launched a daily direct flight to London, meeting a long-felt need of the Bangaloreans.

A wide-bodied brand new A 330-200 Airbus aircraft with 217 seating capacity has been pressed into service in this emerging market as Mallya becomes only the second private player from India to enter international aviation.
Riding on the growing popularity of Kingfisher Airlines, he hopes to launch the Mumbai-Singapore, Bangalore-Hong Kong and Bangalore-San Francisco segments in the next two months.

The maiden flight to London was flagged off by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel as the Airlines’ smartly dressed air hostesses welcomed each passenger on the inaugural flight with a traditional garland and a bag of mementos. “With over 70 per cent seats being taken up on the opening day itself, we are already on the road to success,” Mallya, who also took the maiden journey to the Old Blighty, declared.


The first thing you notice on the brand new aircraft is the amount of leg space even in the ‘economy class’, which Kingfisher calls the ‘KF Class’. You immediately realise that it is in a class of its own as each passenger is provided with a touch-screen television with a choice of programming, including films, songs, games and even ‘live news’ whenever the satellite-flight configuration permits. There’s also Internet and Wi-Fi connections for those inclined to catch up with work.

On the 10-hour non-stop flight, the smokers have to keep their urge firmly in check as smoking is a strict no-no in keeping with international norms, but there is no bar on the bar as the ever smiling air hostesses pamper their customers with a variety of beer, wine and whisky and a choice of snacks to munch.
The lunch, sourced from Sky Gourmet, Bangalore, is a connoisseur’s delight. On many international flights, the vegetarians are given a ‘raw’ deal, but Kingfisher makes sure that Bangaloreans have nothing to complain as hot and tasty food is served.

On the return journey from London, one had a taste of business class ‘KF First’ which was truly something else. The exclusive club of 30 passengers gets Maharaja’s treatment as each cubicle is fitted with a collapsible seat which doubles up as a bed and even offers ‘body massage’ at the press of a button.

In keeping with the requirement of a long flight, Kingfisher has achieved a ‘first’ by introducing a flight bar with a social area where the privileged passengers can relax amidst ambience lighting and enjoy inflight entertainment. For breakfast and lunch, there’s a sumptuous choice of menu sourced from Chutney Mary, one of the best Indian restaurants in London.

The cherubic senior general manager, corporate media relations of the UB Group, Prakash Mirpuri confesses that the Kingfisher fares are slightly higher than the competitors, but adds, “We offer premium amenities at business class price and whoever flies with us once comes back repeatedly as he or she feels the difference.”

Source://deccanherald.