In spite of the mounting troubles and the recent flight cancellations, Kingfisher shares honours with Jet Airways in the category of most favoured airlines this year, according to an annual airline and air travel survey released today.
While Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher is the best airline for in-flight entertainment, food/beverages, in-flight service, in-flight maintenance (cabin lighting, cleanliness, seat comfort, leg room), Naresh Goyal-headed Jet leads in ground handling and landing/take-off quality, it said.
India's largest low-cost carrier IndiGo comes next at No 2, said the survey by travel advisory portal TripAdvisor.
Kingfisher had topped the 2010 edition of the survey.
However, TripAdvisor did not specify when the survey was conducted, and hence it is not clear if it was done before October when the troubles escalated for Kingfisher, leading to massive flight cancellations.
"The survey rings in some good news for the woes-ridden Kingfisher Airlines. Despite recent turbulent times, consumers have given a clear thumbs up to the airline as a favourite carrier which is topping most service and experience parameters," TripAdvisor India Country Manager Nikhil Ganju told reporters while releasing the India Airline Survey 2011.
National carrier Air India, which is also facing a tough time, is the least favoured airline for the second year in a row, the survey said.
IndiGo continues to be the best carrier for 'on time performance' and 'value for money' for the second year in row. For 'on time performance', IndiGo beat its own scores with a 15% increase in its ratings from last year, it said.
"Despite the current economic environment and challenges faced by the airline industry, India has witnessed robust passenger growth in the past year and it seems that it is heavy fliers which are contributing significantly to this growth," Ganju said.
