Upbeat Mallya will fly to US by 2008

Kingfisher Airlines will fly on Air Deccan's licence if overseas norms are not relaxed, reports Samiran Saha.

Kingfisher Airlines will start operations to the San Francisco and New York in the US in April 2008, the airline's chairman Vijay Mallya said on Tuesday.

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“We have filed an application with the US State Transport Department for permission to fly to the US", Mallya said at the sidelines of a marketing seminar organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

Mallya said Kingfisher Airlines would fly on Air Deccan's licence if overseas flying norms were not relaxed. At present private Indian airlines with over five years of domestic flying experience and a fleet size of 20 aircraft are permitted to fly overseas.

“Air Deccan will be a five-year old airline in 2008. Even if the overseas norms are not relaxed, we will fly on Air Deccan's licence,” he said.

A proposal to relax overseas flying norms is under consideration of a group of ministers headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Kingfisher has filed an application for an open offer to buy an additional 20 per cent stake in Air Deccan with the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India.

Kingfisher hopes to use the Air Deccan's licence to be able to fly to the US after it acquires a majority stake in the low-cost carrier.

In May Mallya's airline had picked up a 26 per cent stake in Air Deccan for Rs 550 crore.