Kingfisher : The burden of expectation

I cannot boast of being a frequent flyer ,but I get around. The ‘Kingfisher Experience‘ was one of the items on my ToDo list – they have positioned themselves as a luxury carrier at a comparable price. The hype about their airhostess’s being models helped bump the above mentioned item to the top of my ToDo list.

Well I want to compare 2 airlines for the same flight (Chennai to Kochi). I am going to give Kingfisher(K) and Paramount(P) a 100 points to start with.

1. When I entered the airport there was Kingfisher staff who approached and helped me check in my bagage.The whole process was smooth and I did not have to bother with standing at any of the queues. (+10 for K)
2. The bus taking me to the aircraft had no seats !!! I realize that the ride is short but that is no excuse. (-5 for K)
3. The AC in the aircraft had not taken effect as yet(when we entered K). We were required to wait till take off for the AC to actually take over.On the contrary the craft was already coolled to the required temprature when we entered P.(-5 for K)
4. for approximately the same size aircrafts K had 2 attendants while P had 4. This automatically translates to a better customer experience in P. (-5 for K)
5. The food was bad in K. As this is a subjective measure,I am going to go easy on them. (-2 for K)
6. The pilot was not there to greet me while alighting the aircraft in K.(They did in P).No deductions because I dont think it took away anything from the over all experience.

The tally reads KINGFISHER 93 PARAMOUNT 100
Basically if we stop nitpicking we see that Kingfisher is a travel option very similar to the other options available in the market.The extra premium that is charged by Kingfisher is not justified in the ‘Kingfisher Experience‘.The marketing strategy to position itself as an affordable luxury travel option has backfired. I expected creme bru le I came away with jellow.