The Vijay Mallya Story by Giriprakash K

Author:Giriprakash, K [Giriprakash, K]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789351186229
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2014-04-14T18:30:00+00:00

The Launch

D-day was approaching fast. Mallya had tried very hard to get all the necessary clearances for the airline’s maiden flight on 7 May 2005, his son’s eighteenth birthday, but bureaucratic hassles had forced him to put it off to 9 May.

A day before the launch, Mallya had thrown a huge party in Bombay which saw a mix of the glitterati and the decision-makers in attendance. The next day, Mallya’s hand-picked invitees, the who’s who in the world of politics and industry, boarded Kingfisher Airlines’ maiden flight to Bangalore. Some of the invitees included the then Union civil aviation minister, Praful Patel, and V. Thulasidas, MD of the state-owned carrier, Air India.

The flight to Bangalore gave a glimpse of the kind of service that Mallya would offer his passengers.

The upholstery was red and the rear of each seat was fitted with a small TV screen. The passengers were escorted to their seats by smartly turned out air hostesses who were easy on the eyes and, more importantly, broke into a smile when they saw you. Once seated, the passengers were given a small zipped pouch which contained a headphone, eye mask, pen, and tissue paper. Soon after, a fruit drink was served as alcohol is prohibited on domestic flights.

As soon as the passengers fastened their seat belts, the TV screens came alive with Mallya addressing the passengers: ‘Welcome aboard Kingfisher Airlines. From the day we have started flying, I have tried to create the finest experience for you, and bring back the element of style in travel. Each member of your cabin crew has been hand-picked by me and I have instructed them to treat you as a guest in my own home. In case you have any complaints, please write to me at...’

By the time the aircraft with the IATA airline code name IT (something which Mallya boasted of because the airline was based out of the IT capital of the country, Bangalore) landed, Mallya was already famous. The word had gone around that the airline’s service quality was top-class, never experienced before in the sector.

‘Have you been on Kingfisher?’ became a conversation starter in board meetings. Was this the kind of respect which Mallya always aspired for and had he finally got it? The corporate sector was beginning to see him in a new light and with much more respect as they began to realize that his airline was setting new benchmarks in service.

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