Kingfisher Airlines sends email apology to frequent flyers

Hyderabad, Nov 12: Flying into rough weather, Kingfisher Airlines has sent an email to its frequent flyer club members to explain the reasons for cancellation of numerous flights, asserting that the move was necessary to reconfigure its aircraft to focus on the full-service market.

In the email sent to 'King Club' members today, Kingfisher Airlines Vice-President (Guest Loyalty) Anshu Sarin noted: "We have decided to focus on the full-service market; to this end, Kingfisher Airlines has initiated reconfiguration of its aircraft. This exercise will require few of our aircraft to be out of service for the next few weeks."

"In line with maximising productivity, we have rationalised our network, resulting in a temporary discontinuation of approximately 50 flights out of our current operating schedule of approximately 350 departures per day. Once the reconfiguration is complete, these aircraft will be pressed back into service immediately," she added.

Dismissing news reports, Sarin also said, "The report about our flights being cancelled owing to the supposed exodus of pilots appears to be falsified."

"The Indian Aviation Industry has been faced with the difficult task of coping with high costs and lower yields. After considerable thought and deliberation, Kingfisher Airlines has rolled out initiatives that aim to drive long-term profitability in our efforts to meet these challenges," the vice-president said.

Stating that the airline's service commitment to passengers remained sacrosanct, Sarin said every measure has been taken to reduce any inconvenience caused due to the temporary changes in schedule.

"Please accept my sincere apologies in case you have been inconvenienced on this account; I truly appreciate your support and thank you for your understanding," Sarin said.

PTI