Kingfisher to start int'l flights from August

Kingfisher Airlines will operate its first international flight between Bangalore and San Francisco in August this year followed by Bangalore-New York and Mumbai-London flights during the same month. Kingfisher Airlines, after its merger with Air Deccan, will have an international operations licence from August onwards. The company will immediately start daily international flights to these three destinations, Rajesh Verma, executive VP, Kingfisher Airlines, said today.

Speaking at the launch of Kingfisher Training Academy in Pune, Verma said: "In August this year, Air Deccan will complete five years of operations in domestic aviation sector. This enables the airline to run international flights. Since Kingfisher Airline and Air Deccan have now merged, the joint company will now run international flights from August onwards."

He added that the company has finalised three international routes namely Bangalore-San Francisco, Bangalore-New York and Mumbai-London. "The Mumbai-London will be a direct daily flight," he added.

Verma stated that Kingfisher Training Academy will be operational in 12 cities by December this year. "We plan to train more than 6,000 student during present calendar year. The training academy will conduct two courses in aviation and hospitality services. "At present, the two top airlines Jet and Kingfisher have a shortfall of 600 crew members. The same is expected to increase by another 2,000. Kingfisher Training Academy is aimed to meet the fast increasing skilled manpower deamnd in aviation and hospitality sector," he added. After Pune, the academy will be launched in Delhi, Chandigarh, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Guwahati, Kolkata and Indore.