Kingfisher to use expats on ground

Government’s refusal to give permission to use foreign cabin crew in domestic flights has not deterred liquor baron Vijay Mallya from giving an international touch to his domestic airline operations. Kingfisher Airlines has shortlisted over 50 expats professionals — largely from East European countries — to be placed at major metro airports as guest service relations (behind check-in counters and assisting passengers).
“Once they get a firsthand experience of the Indian operations, they would be deployed on international flights as cabin crew,” said a senior Kingfisher executive. The first batch is expected to be seen at major airports by November this year.
This would be a run-up to Kingfisher launching its international operations by April next year, if the government relaxes the mandatory five-year domestic operations norm for private airlines.
Kingfisher had in July sought DGCA’s nod for flying expat cabin crew in domestic routes. But Government put its foot down over the issue.
17/09/07 Sudipto Dey/Economic Times