Mallya wants state govts to buy seats on each flight

New Delhi: Vijay Mallya, promoter of the cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines, has demanded that state governments “underwrite seats” — or buy a certain number of seats — in every flight of Air India and private carriers.
Mallya made this suggestion at the first meeting of a government committee to formulate civil aviation policy. The committee met on December 26 under Civil Aviation Secretary Nasim Zaidi. “He (Mallya) stated that the state governments be asked to consider seat underwriting as the states were ultimate beneficiaries of the connectivity,” said the minutes of the meeting.
In 2011, Kingfisher had a passenger load factor of 74.5-88.4 per cent. This means about 20 per cent empty seats per month.
While seeking government support for “private airlines in distress”, Mallya, chairman of the CII national committee on civil aviation, said the practice is common in developed countries.
31/01/12 Indian Express

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Jan 2012, Kingfisher Jan 2012