Kingfisher Red to shut operations

Kingfisher chief Vijay Mallya today announced that the company would "do away" with its low-cost subsidiary as there are "enough" passengers for the full-service carrier.

Maintaining that the operations of Kingfisher Red would be stopped, Mallya said, "We have several initiatives. We are doing away with Kingfisher Red because we don't intend to compete in the low-cost segment."

"We believe there are more than enough guests who prefer to travel the full-service Kingfisher Class, and that shows through in our own performance where the load factors in Kingfisher Class are more than in Kingfisher Red," he said at the Annual General Meeting of the airline company here.

Responding to concerns over Kingfisher's capability to stay afloat, he said it is the "most awarded" airline in the country, with a substantial market share.

"Aviation demand remains strong and Kingfisher is still the single largest airline in India with a market share of approximately 20%. Kingfisher is also India's most awarded airline, recognised for the quality of its product and service and its vast network," the KFA Chairman told shareholders in a communication.

In a bid to allay their apprehensions, he also rebutted "recent sensational articles in the media" saying the airline would need to infuse more funds to remain afloat and efforts have been made in that direction.