Kingfisher relooks at US nonstop flight

New Delhi: The relentless rise of crude prices has led Kingfisher Airlines to relook at its proposed non-stop flights to US as the airline prepares to fly abroad on Deccan's licence from August-end. It is now evaluating whether a one-stop flight that allows it to pick jet fuel at much cheaper rates and more passengers makes better economics than flying non-stop to US by tanking up expensive fuel from India.
An airline needs to lift nearly 150 tonnes of fuel for a 16 to 18-hour nonstop flight which at Indian airports will cost nearly Rs 60 lakh. But a stopover and filling up elsewhere could lead to nearly 25% saving in fuel bill on each flight. Kingfisher EVP Hitesh Patel said: "We are re-evaluating all our domestic and international flights. If there's any negative route, we'll look at it. We are also looking at the options of flying nonstop to US or with one stop. No final decision has been taken so far. The Airbus A-340 we are getting is capable of both these flights." It's likely that the airline will have one or two nonstop flights like Bangalore-San Francisco that it had announced earlier.
03/07/08 Saurabh Sinha/Times of india

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Deccan Jul 2008, Foreign Jul 2008, Kingfisher Jul 2008