Kingfisher Red To Charge For Meals In Flights
Kingfisher Red has started charging passengers for food onboard, in line with the practice of other low-cost carriers, to boost revenue.
Online, January 19, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher Airlines Ltd bought low-fare carrier Air Deccan in September 2007 and rechristened it Kingfisher Red, but unlike most of its rivals offered food free to passengers. That has now changed.
"With effect from 15 January 2011, we will be discontinuing the complimentary food service on board Kingfisher Red flights," the airline said in an email to frequent flyers last week.
While short-haul flights, such as Delhi-Dharamsala, will serve only cold menus, passengers on longer flights can order hot breakfast, lunch and dinner for an additional Rs.200 when booking the ticket. The airline will also sell hot beverages, fruit juices, rolls and sandwiches on board for Rs.50-150.
Low-cost carriers such as IndiGo, SpiceJet Ltd, GoAir and JetLite also sell food on board and allow passengers to pay separately for meals while buying tickets online.
A Kingfisher official, who declined to be named, said Mallya was not in favour of charging guests for food, but agreed as it made business sense. The move, this official said, will help improve the quality of food on Kingfisher Red flights and reduce wastage. An analyst said Kingfisher Red was now following the international model for low-cost carriers.
"Kingfisher is just going the way of the US carriers," said Vikram Krishnan, an analyst at US-based consulting firm Oliver Wyman. "Almost none of them offer free meals in the economy cabin domestically, even on transcontinental flights, some of which are over 6 hours long. Many US carriers now view catering as a profit centre. This has also led to a boom in airport restaurant food sales."