Comparisons are odious but when it comes to the only two major airlines that have stopped operations in Indian aviation in the recent past — Kingfisher and Jet Airways — they are inevitable.

Both excellent products which provided the best-in-class service and changed the flying experience for Indian travellers, the two airlines also eventually collapsed under the weight of the debts that they had accumulated while trying to realise the dreams of their owners — Kingfisher’s flamboyant Vijay Mallya (VJM) and Jet’s influential Naresh Goyal (NG).

In pursuit of dreams

There are many similarities between the two. Both the airlines wanted to fulfil their owners’ visions of operating world-class airlines. They succeeded to a fair extent. When Jet started operations in 1993 it set standards that others found difficult to follow. Jet started with brand new Boeing 737-400 aircraft which provided economy and business class seats. It used imported cutlery in business class meals and was the first airline to print passengers’ names on their boarding cards.

Over a decade later came VJM, who set his own standards when he started Kingfisher as a low-cost airline in 2007. The airline provided an excellent meal service (passengers flying Kingfisher often said that they were happily given a second meal if they asked for it) and free goodie bags to all its flyers. It also introduced live television on its flights.

Manoj Chacko, former Executive Vice-President Commercial, who had two stints in Kingfisher Airlines, the last starting in 2010 and ending around the time the airline shut operations, maintains that Kingfisher First was a “trendsetter and a true alternative to Jet’s business class product.”

The similarities did not end here. Many believe that the two airlines eventually had to shut shop because of similar and, in hindsight, wrong decisions that they took. The first of these had to do with acquiring another airline. Jet Airways acquired Air Sahara in 2007 while Kingfisher acquired Air Deccan in 2007.

A senior executive with Kingfisher who declined to be identified believes that acquiring Air Deccan was a bad idea but does not blame VJM for this decision. “He had a way of doing things. It was for the management team to take his dreams forward and tell him how they could be achieved,” he points out.

In comparison, Jet’s decision to acquire Air Sahara is placed squarely at NG’s door by many who list this as the first of the many wrong decisions that he took in running Jet. Another wrong decision that the two took which too boomeranged was trying to change their business models. Kingfisher, which started as a low-cost airline, soon changed into what Jet was doing and started offering Kingfisher First and economy class. According to Chacko, Kingfisher First reported very healthy passenger loads between the metros. “But when it was tried on non-metro routes the passenger loads were not as good as expected,” he says.

In comparison, Jet Airways used the acquisition route to try and get a foothold in the low-cost segment, which had started growing and was gaining market share.

Eventually the two airlines collapsed under the weight of their debts. When Kingfisher stopped operations it had a debt of ₹9,000 crore, including ₹6,500 crore owed to a consortium of banks and about ₹1,500 crore of unsecured loans and pending salaries. When Jet Airways `temporarily suspended’ operations, it had a debt of ₹8,500 crore.

Some differences too

Even though these similarities seem significant enough in the fate that the two airlines met, there were also many differences between the two.

NG came from a not so well-to-do family and setting up Jet Airways was the culmination of long years of his struggle as a general sales agent for a number of airlines. VJM, on the other hand, had multiple thriving business interests and set up Kingfisher as a birthday present for his son.

The two airlines also had a different aircraft mix. While Jet’s fleet included Boeing, Airbus and ATR aircraft, Kingfisher had an all-Airbus fleet.

Finally, the biggest difference between the two was that when Kingfisher shut down, there never really was talk of its starting again while when it comes to Jet there are many like Gustav Baldauf, who has worked in Jet Airways and Air India, who believe Jet has a good chance to restart as there is a lot of good substance left for it to be successful again. He adds that Kingfisher collapsed quite quickly because of its basic management deficiencies without having a chance of being revived.

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