Anyone looking for an example of how quickly hard times can reverse fortunes in aviation need look no further than Kingfisher Airlines and its boss, the Indian booze baron Vijay Mallya.
Once a leading light among the new, private ventures poised to profit from India's burgeoning wealth, Kingfisher - launched in 2005 and named after one of the most popular brands in Mallya's massive United Breweries empire - has stumbled into 2012 with a crushing debt burden, a crippled fleet and a desperate need for a financial saviour.
At its height, Kingfisher ran an extensive domestic network. The airline built a fleet of 60 Airbus and ATR aircraft with nearly 150 on order or option and, between the main operation and low-cost subsidiary Kingfisher Red, controlled nearly 28% of the Indian domestic market in 2008 - compared to just 16.3% for Air India.
But 2008 turned out to be the summit. In November of that year, Mallya iced plans for regional and long-haul services due to poor market conditions.
23/01/12 dan Thisdell /Flightglobal
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