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INGFISHER Airlines, set up in 2003, could not see a single year of profit since it got listed in 2006. One wintry day in 2007, Vijay Mallya, arguably the Indian billionaire with the most panache, decided to leave behind his personal Airbus Corporate Jet to fly an up-and-coming low cost airline from New Delhi (http://ceylon-ananda.blogspot.comi2012/04/indigo-among-most- profitable-in-indian.html). It was only after the chairman of Kingfisher Airlines (KFA), billed India's only five-star airline, had settled into seat 12D, in the emergency row, and the Mumbai-bound plane was in the air that the low-cost airline's CEO was informed that a rival was on the flight.
Mallya, who sussed out the airline's service - sat in the first row for part of the flight to get a feel of the 'premium' row, for instance - was prescient. The airline he was getting a feel of was IndiGo (http:// businesstoday. intoday.in /story / indigo-in-most-promising-companies /1/ 18666.html).
IndiGo today has a market share - a shade under 20 per cent - that jostles every month with Kingfisher for the No. 1 spot among Indian aviation firms. Not only has it achieved that with 43 planes, versus Kingfisher's 66, just five years into operations, it is the most profitable in the Indian airline business. It is an unlisted airline, and is not required to make its revenues and profits public, but company insiders say its 2010/11 revenues were around Rs. 3,200 crore, and net profits Rs. 700 crore. Kingfisher reported aloss of Rs. 1,027 crore on Rs. 6,396 crore sales the same year (http://businesstoday.intoday.in/ story / indigo-in-most-promising-companies /1 / 18666.html).
Currently Kingfisher Airlines in on the verge of shutting down. Kingfisher Airlines flying licence has been suspended since October 20 due to safety reasons, and has been seeking financial support from lenders for over a year to revive the company, (http:// timesofindia.indiatimes.com /kingfisher-crisis / specialcoverage/10754352.cms). On February 25,2013, the beleaguered airlines lost international and domestic flying slots, and the move came close on heels of a decision taken by the consortium of bankers to start recalling their loans amounting to Rs. 7,500 crore. On March 10, 2013, DGCA asked the carrier to clear all dues, including pending salaries of employees, before seeking licence renewal. http:/iwww.thehindu.com/business/Industry/kingfisher-airlines-crisis-timeline/article4636635.ece
The man who bested Mallya and,...