Kingfisher to double fleet strength by 2016

Mumbai: Privately-owned Kingfisher Airlines has informed potential investors that it intends to double its fleet strength through 2016 by adding 67 more aircraft. These will include 42 Airbus 320, 15 Airbus 330 and 10 Airbus 350 and 380 planes. Deliveries are expected to start from 2012.

The airline currently operates 67 aircraft in its fleet. These include 39 Airbus and 28 ATR aircraft.

Kingfisher says it will take delivery of 10 aircraft in 2012, which will include 6 A320 and 4 A330 aircraft. It will take delivery of another 12 aircraft, including 9 A320 and 3 A330, in 2013. In the period 2014-2016, the carrier plans to take delivery of 45 aircraft with a schedule of 13, 14 and 18 aircraft for the three years.

The presentation, put up on the airline's web site said it will use its A330 fleet for medium-and-long-haul international operations.

Kingfisher remains the only listed airline in India to have made losses in the third quarter of the current financial year, with the other two listed carriers, SpiceJet and Jet Airways, reporting profits after registering losses in the previous quarters.

Kingfisher Airlines operates 350 flights a day, connecting 70 cities, including seven international destinations. The airline has 67 aircraft-39 Airbus and 28 ATRs- and commands a market share of 20.8 per cent.

Kingfisher has a total debt of Rs7,514 crore as on 31 December 2009, which includes Rs2,099 crore short-term loans and another Rs907 crore working capital loans.