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Kingfisher Airlines turns trendsetter for non-legacy carriers

Set to join domestic BSP, go online with GDS by April 2006

Bhisham Mansukhani - Mumbai

Kingfisher Airlines, in a bid to widen its sales distribution network and pave the way for international operations, has indicated that it will join the recently-instituted domestic Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP), and will also make its online debut with a GDS in April this year. The domestic BSP programme, which was formalised in December last year, following a long pilot project with select agents, has been extended to include all IATA agents, while non-IATA agents have till October to seek accreditation.

Kingfisher, which currently has a fleet of 11 aircraft and a total of 70 flights daily, will be the first non-legacy carrier in the country to join the domestic BSP. Sunil Chopra, head of IATA, India believes that Kingfisher's induction to the domestic BSP programme, which currently has Air India, Indian, Jet Airways and Air Sahara as members, will strengthen the alliance and compel the LCCs to eventually join.

UB Chairman, Vijay Mallya, had announced that Kingfisher would join the domestic BSP programme and partner with a GDS by April. While there are strong indications that Abacus may be the preferred GDS partner, both Kingfisher Airlines and Abacus are non-committal on this issue.

Sources in IATA reveal that Kingfisher's decision to join the domestic BSP programme would considerably prop up its current distribution network by giving it access to the 2,000-plus accredited travel agents, and smoothen the roadmap to Kingfisher's long-expected international operations.