Mumbai: When Kingfisher launched international operations in September 2008, the prevailing wags had it that the new Airbus A320s the airline had acquired would never traverse the distance between Bangalore and San Francisco. The joke was that the gleaming toilets, the culturally relevant in-flight amusements, the abundant bar, and even (or perhaps especially) the weighty baritone of its leonine owner Vijay Mallya issuing from the aircraft's speakers, welcoming flyers, rendered the airline too heavy for long distance journeys.
The quipsters were being silly, and prophetic. The aircraft did take off, but the airline didn't. Unable to withstand high operating costs and with demands from lenders mounting, Kingfisher grounded most of its planes by February 2012. State Bank of India, one of those lenders, declared Mallya a "wilful defaulter" on November 23.
These days, the only people who have professed interest in the fittings that lined the innards of those Airbus A320s are scrap dealers from Mumbai who've signed up to bid for what remains of the planes (and other material acquisitions of Kingfisher), the unmoving moveable assets that are being auctioned online by SBICAP Trustee Company Ltd, which is in possession of the 75 "items". The auction is now open for scrutiny with an inspection scheduled for Monday. It will be held on December 7.
26/11/15 Aditya Anand/Mumbai Mirror
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The quipsters were being silly, and prophetic. The aircraft did take off, but the airline didn't. Unable to withstand high operating costs and with demands from lenders mounting, Kingfisher grounded most of its planes by February 2012. State Bank of India, one of those lenders, declared Mallya a "wilful defaulter" on November 23.
These days, the only people who have professed interest in the fittings that lined the innards of those Airbus A320s are scrap dealers from Mumbai who've signed up to bid for what remains of the planes (and other material acquisitions of Kingfisher), the unmoving moveable assets that are being auctioned online by SBICAP Trustee Company Ltd, which is in possession of the 75 "items". The auction is now open for scrutiny with an inspection scheduled for Monday. It will be held on December 7.
26/11/15 Aditya Anand/Mumbai Mirror
