Kingfisher Airline scraps its plans for a top UK marketer

KingfisherKingfisher Airline, the privately-owned Indian airline, is scrapping plans to appoint a senior UK marketer as it is forced to scale back its international expansion plans.

The carrier has axed its Bangalore to London service just weeks after it was launched in September, and has indefinitely postponed the launch of its Mumbai to London daily flight, which was due to start on October 26. It has also cancelled the launch of its Mumbai to San Francisco service.

A Kingfisher spokesman says that it is no longer seeking a UK-based marketing director, who would have been working with the brand’s chief marketer in India, Vikram Malhotra.

The company was seeking a UK marketer to adapt Kingfisher’s branding strategy to the local market, but at present the company has no plans for any marketing in the UK.

The airline has been forced to scale back its plans and lay off 300 staff as the financial crisis hits Asian economies.

Kingfisher was launched in 2005 and flies to 38 destinations in India. It announced its intention to begin flying international routes to the UK and the US earlier this year. Under Indian law, airlines under five years old are not allowed to fly internationally.