Rick Saggar, Kingfisher’s London-based general manager (UK & Europe), who was recently in Berlin at the International Tourism Bourse (ITB), said in an interview that the airline had established an office in Frankfurt.

“The trade has been very receptive to us.  Kingfisher is a big brand.  We fly to eight destinations outside India … these are in the Far East, Sri Lanka, Nepal and the UK .. and we will have a new service from London to Delhi daily,” said Saggar.

Germany is a coveted destination on Kingfisher’s list of priority markets.  While getting a slot in Frankfurt is not easy – and also not cost-effective – for an airline trying to enter Germany, its strategic location in Central Europe with access to all the important destinations on the continent is a strong pull for many.  As Europe’s powerhouse, Germany is attractive for many airlines that are setting up a network of combined air and road services from Frankfurt or neighbouring Hahn-Frankfurt airport.

But, as Saggar put it, starting flights to the United States is “close to the heart of the airline’s chairman Vijay Mallya”, who has already set up an office in New York in preparation for what is described as “Day X”, as local aviation circles tend to describe the still not decided date when Kingfisher will start flying to the United States.

Saggar spoke of the Kingfisher Express Management in India which is virtually a door-to-door cargo delivery service. The airline, which has a fleet of 69 Airbus 330-200 aircraft, flies cargo in the aircraft belly.  Saggar said that Kingfisher was looking aggressively to tap opportunities both for passenger and air-cargo business.  Cargo business, he added, would assume “great significance” in Kingfisher’s operations.

Though he did not have the actual cargo figures available, Saggar said that cargo’s contribution was “growing all the time” to the airline’s overall revenue.  During its latest financial year, to end March 2010, it generated revenues totalling the equivalent of US$1.2 billion, with US$1.1 billion accounted by its passenger business. 

Despite last year’s downturn that has characterized the business of most international airlines, Saggar sounded upbeat about the future business.  “Kingfisher is growing and our fleet size will match the economic demand in the market,” he maintained.

Saggar added that the first quarter of this year had been “very strong” in terms of sales. There had been a decline in passenger traffic last year but Kingfisher was upbeat about the future. 

“We have secured good business contacts in Germany and successfully concluded an agreement with a general sales agent,” he added. 

With India’s economy poised to post strong growth rate, this development is also going to impact its foreign air-cargo trade.  “Kingfisher is going to benefit from this growth in terms of increasing its cargo business,” Saggar predicted.

Meanwhile, Kingfisher has become a member of the oneworld® airline with its chairman Mallya signing an agreement with representatives of the oneworld member airlines. This is subject to India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation granting approval to Kingfisher to become part of the oneworld alliance.