The Rise and Fall of Kingfisher Airlines

Abstract

When we think about luxury in the airline industry, one name comes to everyone's mind. Kingfisher airlines which was one of India’s most prominent airlines had experienced a dramatic rise and an equally dramatic downfall. At first, the airline was associated with luxury services, competitive pricing and an extensive route network but as time went on, more and more strategic failures mounted on the airline which included the consequential merger with the failing airline, Air Deccan. This accompanied by the rise in oil prices as well as the 2008 global financial crisis and high operation cost with excessive unneeded spending by the airline’s founder, Vijay Mallya, expedited the failure of the airline. This paper analyzes the rise and fall of the airline and concludes that a combination of different things such as flawed business strategies and external economic factors led to the eventual collapse of this once industry giant.