Kingfisher to flash its own colours on international routes

16 Aug 2008

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New Delhi: India's civil aviation ministry has allowed Bangalore-based Kingfisher Airlines Ltd to bring its operations under the operating licence of Deccan Aviation Ltd, which was granted to this pioneering low cost carrier in 2003. Kingfisher has merged with Deccan Aviation and now with the government sanction in its bag it can fly overseas under its own brand.

It can also continue to operate the Simplifly Deccan brand name until the technology platforms of the two carriers are integrated, ministry officials said.

UB Group-owned Kingfisher Airlines bought a majority stake in Deccan Aviation last year and merged the two carriers. With the acquisition, Kingfisher lined itself up to collect the right to piggyback on Deccan's permit to fly international routes from later this month, when the pioneering low cost carrier completes five years of domestic service. This is a requirement under current rules for carriers to become eligible to fly international routes.

Under normal circumstances, Kingfisher would have commenced international operations only in 2010, when it would have completed five years of domestic service.

Deccan completes five years of domestic service at the end of the month.

An earlier request by Kingfisher to run its services under its own brand, along with the renamed Simplifly Deccan was turned down in February. Now the government appears to have had a rethink, admitting that such a decision would have been unfair. It has its own carriers as an example to look at wherein it has allowed state-run National Aviation Co of India Ltd (NACIL) to run the Air India and Indian Airlines brands under separate, so-called air operator's permits (AOP), or airline licences even after their merger.

The integration of Air India and Indian Airlines is still not complete, a year after the process of legal merger.

"As far as the ministry is concerned, we don't have any issue...they have to meet the DGCA (rules) now," civil aviation minister Praful Patel responded earlier in the week when asked if there were still any hurdles for Kingfisher to go international.

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