End to good times? Mallya stands tall in the face of crisis

New Delhi, Nov 12: With the good times of the Kingfisher airlines hitting a road block, more flights are being cancelled across the country. With 9 more flights cancelled on Saturday, the total number of flights that have been grounded has become 40 now. The cash-starved airline is however putting up a brave front by saying that the cancellation was part of a strategy.

Sanjay Agarwal, Kingfisher Airlines CEO has been quoted as saying, "Cancellation of flights was a well thought, pre-determined plan. Cancelled flights on non-profitable routes and for reconfiguration of seats."

With talks on the bail out on, Kingfisher chief Vijay Mallya said that he never sought fund infusion from the government.

Agarwal added that initial plans were to cancel the flights for a short duration and thereby thought there was no need to notify the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in such a case. He was quick to apologize and said, "We apologise to DGCA for not keeping them in loop."

With the Opposition crying foul on the govt's plans to help out the cash-strapped Kingfisher by saying that why a private sector airline is getting such privileges, Mallya remained his defiant self and tweeted on the current crisis that has hit the airline, "Is it Kingfishers duty 2 fly on loss-making routes when State Governments tax heavily? Or should we be financially prudent and fly profitably? Every Government has gone out of the way to support Airlines and connectivity. In India airlines are over taxed and over charged. Wonder why?"

It is understood that Kingfisher needs a whopping Rs 1000 crore to get over the looming crisis. The airline also owes the oil companies another Rs 200 crore and have threatened to pull the plug off supplies. With many pilots threatening to quit after not being paid their salaries for the last three months, there seems to be no end to the woes of Kingfisher.

OneIndia News