Airlines of India - IT Red to charge for food from 10th Oct.

A very significant step downwards for Mallya who always insisted on a five star service.

my significant other has just received training on how to sell food onboard IT red flights. They will sell snacks, sandwiches, soft drinks etc etc

The best part of the training was the excuses IT are drilling into the staff should a pax ask why standards have been lowered:

PAX:Why are you lowering standards?

CREW:We are not lowering standards, previously you were forced to have whatever snack we had on board, nor you get a wide variety of choices

The launch date is a tentative 10th Oct, all crew should be trained by then.

It is only for KINGFISHER RED flights at the moment.

Whatever difference JetKonnect and Kingfisher RED had has now well and truly evaporated!!!

EM just received from IT:

"Dear xxxx,

We are pleased to bring for you Sky Treats - Delicious food at mouth-watering prices on board Kingfisher Red. Effective 10th Oct 09, complimentary food on board Kingfisher Red will be discontinued. You can still enjoy delicious food on board that suits your taste buds and budget. To add to your delight, every meal comes with a complimentary hot or cold beverage.

Revised Lounge Policy:

Lounge policy for Domestic and International travel has been revised as below. We trust you will make the most of these services and look forward to welcome you aboard Kingfisher Airlines.

Benefits Red Silver Gold
Lounge Access (domestic) for travel on Kingfisher First/ Kingfisher Class - Yes Yes +1
Lounge Access (domestic) for travel on Kingfisher Red - - Yes
Lounge Access (international) - - Yes +1 *

* +1 guest applicable in the event of the gold member flying Kingfisher First.

Best regards,

Anshu Sarin
General Manager - King Club"

Sucks man - was thinking of flying IT to prevent being "Konnected", but all hope is lost now... :p

PS: I just flew my first Kingfisher First flight and it was pretty decent, actually - better than Jet's.

However, noted from their in-flight magazine that most of their flights are Red anyway, so they only have a few more to go all-Y! :eek:

My first Kingfisher and domestic flight was a BOM-COK A319 all Y but had full service (choice of veg/non veg western or South Indian!) and seatback IFE, I was over the moon that an Indian domestic airline could provide service like that....

...all a distant memory now, apart from a few select routes, RED has taken over the majority. At least you still get lounge access for RED flights.

At least you still get lounge access for RED flights.Yes, unlike the cutthroats over at Jet...buggers reduced Plat benefits - is it really worth it anymore?? :confused: :rolleyes:

Yes, unlike the cutthroats over at Jet...buggers reduced Plat benefits - is it really worth it anymore?? :confused: :rolleyes:
Was planning an MR on 9W next week, but yes, doesn't seem worth the benefits any longer. I hate to think of it this way, but were Indian airlines (at least KF and 9W) offering the sky and the moon before and are they now trying to get mature about the whole pampering business? Am not sure Dr Mallya's heart is pro charging customers for food, maybe his hands are tied in this case?

Was planning an MR on 9W next week, but yes, doesn't seem worth the benefits any longer. I hate to think of it this way, but were Indian airlines (at least KF and 9W) offering the sky and the moon before and are they now trying to get mature about the whole pampering business? Am not sure Dr Mallya's heart is pro charging customers for food, maybe his hands are tied in this case?

Generally speaking, passengers onboard indian carriers for the boom years (2006, 2007, 2008) were exposed to small little nuggest on board the airlines which added up to a great experiance.

when i travelled on KF for the first time:

pre departure hot/cold towells.
amenity kits (pen, eye shades, earphones etc)
after departure juice round
hot meal with choices
juice round/tea/coffee
hot towels
on demand juice until landing
customer satisfaction surveys
and of course hot girls in short skirts.

This was on a 1hr25m BOM-COK A319 and the clientele were not exactly high yielding pax either. everyone got treated nicely (did not matter about ethnicity or caste or light skin/dark skin)

I remember i had arrived on the BA from LHR at around midnight and had six hours layover at BOM domestic and i was feeling like crap. I dropped my numerous pain killer tablets in the aisle when boarding and before i knew it, i had a hot girl bending down picking my tablets up for me with a smile on her face.......it was a shock that Indians could give service like that after years of AI/IC nonsense.

saying all that, its still hard to imagine with Indian mentality and considering how cheap food is on the street vendors, majority of pax paying for something on board especially when most flights on average are about 1hr-1hr30ms. lets see how it pans out

BTW, those earphones were great for the gym, they plugged into the machines and fit nicely on the ears without having a big cheap plastic band on your head.

The best part of the training was the excuses IT are drilling into the staff should a pax ask why standards have been lowered:

PAX:Why are you lowering standards?

CREW:We are not lowering standards, previously you were forced to have whatever snack we had on board, nor you get a wide variety of choices

The launch date is a tentative 10th Oct, all crew should be trained by then.

It is only for KINGFISHER RED flights at the moment.

Whatever difference JetKonnect and Kingfisher RED had has now well and truly evaporated!!!


"Enhancements"

a race to the lowest common denominator ;)

a race to the lowest common denominator ;) ^^

based on a management decision the buy on board service which was to be launched on 10th oct 09 has been put on hold. We will continue with our current service of offering complimentary food and beverage on-board KFR flights with a change in the product

have they suddenly seen the light at the end of the tunnel?

based on a management decision the buy on board service which was to be launched on 10th oct 09 has been put on hold. We will continue with our current service of offering complimentary food and beverage on-board KFR flights with a change in the product

have they suddenly seen the light at the end of the tunnel?I had a reasonably long chat on an almost *full* flight on 9w recently with a FA whom I meet on international sectors.

I made a comment that Jet had started putting back linen napkins on 9w mainline, and he said that yes, there are some small signs which appear things are improving, and we both stated that we were hoping for the best.

based on a management decision the buy on board service which was to be launched on 10th oct 09 has been put on hold. We will continue with our current service of offering complimentary food and beverage on-board KFR flights with a change in the product

have they suddenly seen the light at the end of the tunnel?
The idea bombed big time. Apparently, lots of negative publicity equating KFR with other LCCs, which I'm told, VJM did not like.