Beijing, June
11:
Kingfisher
Airlines' plans to join the global airline alliance, Oneworld, are still very
much on. In an exclusive interview to Business Line, Oneworld's Chief
Executive Officer, Mr Bruce Ashby, said that the airline's membership to
Oneworld was currently on hold and that the alliance was supporting the airline
in coming out of its financial problems. Excerpts:
What is the
status of Kingfisher Airlines' application to join Oneworld?
Several months
ago, we agreed to put Kingfisher's membership on hold while it worked through
the challenges in the Indian environment, which are pretty severe these days.
There has been
no change of status since then. Kingfisher is working on its plans and we are
supporting it, hoping that it will come through well. But we have not announced
any change in plans. We have not announced any new date.
Is this normal?
Have other airlines come out of this kind of financial mess?
I would love to
say that the airline business is stable and that this is a rare event. But the
truth is that this happens more often than we would like. Airlines do go
through severe dips in their fortunes for a period of time. Airlines are
sensitive to a lot of things around them — from fuel prices to Government
action.
It is not
actually all that unusual for an airline to go through restructuring. We have
had several airlines which have had significant restructuring. For example,
Japan Airlines is now announcing profits after having a particularly bad time.
So, there is no
timeline for Kingfisher Airlines to join the Oneworld Alliance?
I am reluctant
to set timelines because the pressure is not internal to Kingfisher. It comes
from many external factors — so a timeline, in a way, is a bit false here. We
are just being patient and taking our time.
Is this an exclusive
arrangement with Kingfisher or are you looking at other partners in India?
We are not
looking at other partners in India.
Several months ago, we agreed to put Kingfisher's membership on hold while
it worked through the challenges in the Indian environment, which are pretty
severe these days. There has been no change of status since then. — Mr Bruce
Ashby, Chief Executive Officer, Oneworld
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