Deccan to provide comforts of full-service carrier
The idea behind is to improve the brand image of Deccan, bringing it closer to Kingfisher and taking competition in the industry on its terms. Easy flight
By Nirbhay Kumar, TNN |
NEW DELHI: While UB Group chairman Vijay Mallya is yet to take a call on the continuation of Deccan brand, he is preparing for an onslaught on rival low-cost airlines like SpiceJet, IndiGo, JetLite and GoAir. The war for market share in the domestic market is expected to enter the next lap and Dr Mallya is ready to go all out.
Come May 15 and you would be travelling by Deccan with most comforts of a full-service carrier, but the price tag would be in the budget airline range. The idea behind the move is to improve the brand image of Deccan, bringing it closer to Kingfisher and at the same time taking competition in the industry on its terms.
���After we acquired Air Deccan last year we have changed the airline a lot. From ground handling equipment to uniform of crew and the interiors, many things have completely changed since then. Having done that, now the objective is to improve Deccan brand. Just after acquiring the airline we got a market survey done to see the brand value of Deccan and found that it stood at the bottom, below SpiceJet and IndiGo. Main reasons for this were poor on-time performance, ground handling and in-flight services. In the last nine months, things have changed a lot. We are further taking moves to enhance the image of Deccan brand,��� a Kingfisher Airlines top official told ET.
Come May 15 and you would be travelling by Deccan with most comforts of a full-service carrier, but the price tag would be in the budget airline range. The idea behind the move is to improve the brand image of Deccan, bringing it closer to Kingfisher and at the same time taking competition in the industry on its terms.
���After we acquired Air Deccan last year we have changed the airline a lot. From ground handling equipment to uniform of crew and the interiors, many things have completely changed since then. Having done that, now the objective is to improve Deccan brand. Just after acquiring the airline we got a market survey done to see the brand value of Deccan and found that it stood at the bottom, below SpiceJet and IndiGo. Main reasons for this were poor on-time performance, ground handling and in-flight services. In the last nine months, things have changed a lot. We are further taking moves to enhance the image of Deccan brand,��� a Kingfisher Airlines top official told ET.
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���We are working on the possibility of changing the brand name of Deccan, though no new name has been suggested so far. We are also planning to provide passengers more options on-board. We are going to do what no low-cost airline in India has done so far. We would give Deccan travellers a pleasant surprise after May 15. We are changing a lot for changing the perception about the airline,��� he added.
This is the second time Deccan is undergoing a brand makeover. Last year, the logo and livery of the airline was replaced with that of Kingfisher. It cost the company nearly Rs 70 crore. But this round of branding, it seems, has to do much with Kingfisher���s plan to fly overseas in August this year. With the government being reluctant in allowing the airline to operate two brands on one operating permit, UB Group is open to the idea of operating with one brand ��� Kingfisher.
Though Mr Mallya has maintained that even after merger of the two airlines Deccan brand would exist. In a recent communication to Deccan founder GR Gopinath, Mr Mallya said: ���At UB Group we build brands, we don���t destroy brands for ego purposes.���
���We have already spent Rs 70 crore in rebranding Air Deccan. There is no point in going for another makeover and spending another Rs 100 crore. No proposal to change the name of Deccan has come to board level. It���s not that Mr Mallya cannot change the name of Deccan, but the kind of brand equity and appeal airline has in the market, renaming the carrier won���t be advisable,��� Deccan Aviation executive chairman Capt GR Gopinath told ET.
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���If he wants to change the brand name of Kingfisher and Deccan to Kingfisher Premium and KingfisherLite, he can do it,��� he added. ���Post merger, two brands namely Deccan and Kingfisher would operate. While Deccan brand would operate on short-haul international routes, Kingfisher would operate on longer ones,��� Mr Gopinath said.However, a senior Kingfisher Airlines official said: ���If we are changing every thing, why not the brand too.��� ���Even if we provide more services to the passengers, Deccan would not be a full-service carrier. It���s going to be a value and low-fare carrier,��� he said.
The additional services likely to be offered by Deccan would certainly hit the company���s bottom line. ���Though we won���t charge extra or increase airfare, we would increase our revenue by increasing occupancy at the aircraft. Anyway, we are sure that airlines would increase airfare as the current fare is not sustainable,��� the official said.
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