Kingfisher launches Heathrow to India

The Indian airline Kingfisher is to start flying between London and Bangalore. The single daily 11 hour flight to the the Indian IT centre is the airline's first international service.

Kingfisher Airlines will operate a new Airbus A330-200 on the route. It will have only two classes of service, as opposed to British Airways who operate the same route with a four class plane. The initial Airbus A330 for the service has already been delivered and was prominently shown at the recent Farnborough Air Show.

The airline says that its business class product (confusingly called Kingfisher First) is more akin to the premier class of other carriers with a 2+2+2 flat seat arrangement, and an on-board chef, just as Austrian and bmi have. A useful novelty is a jacket pressing service. Five course meals will be provided by London's Chutney Mary's restaurant, plus what the airline calls a "social area" comprising a full bar, staffed with a bartender, and a break-out seating area with two couches and bar stools. Passengers will also be offered in-seat massagers, a jacket pressing service, and spectacles cleaning.

Economy, called Kingfisher Class, has a 34" pitch with a 2+4+2 layout.

Inflight entertainment will include live TV channels such as BBC World, along with CNN, Bloomberg and Eurosport/ESPN via satellite to every seat, plus some 357 hours of films and short programmes. There will be webchat and email, USB connectors and in-seat plug/chargers available throughout the aircraft. In Kingfisher First the touch screen is a massive 17", and 10.5" in economy.

The flight from Bangalore will depart at 8.40 am and arrive at London Heathrow's Terminal 4 at 2.50 pm, local time. The return flight will depart Heathrow at 10.05 pm and arrive in Bangalore the next day at 12.35 pm, local time.

Kingfisher is part of the United Breweries Group, one of India's largest companies which also own the Scottish distiller Whyte and Mackay. Its maiden flight was made on 9 May 2005 and it currently operates 18 ATR 72s and 24 Airbus 320 series. It has large outstanding orders for Airbus A320, A330, A350 and A380 planes, with ambitious expansion plans.