Fly the good times! Recently I traveled by Kingfisher airlines. You can ask me why Kingfisher? I had heard a lot about their service… being in the service industry myself
I wanted to check out the new guys? Yes the fare is much steeper than Goair/Spice jet etc It was an important function that I had to attend in Goa and since it’s not everyday that I travel, I thought I’ll give my mom and myself a treat.
I bought Kingfisher tickets on the net(this clicking business is very addictive). You can book your seats as well. Last week I went to the airport. The check in staff was very professional. I should have taken down her name…. She was good. Not only did she ask us if we wanted seats other than the ones that were assigned but she also asked if my mom required assistance. The first impression is the most important one and I quite liked the one made by them. I got my boarding cards and went to the gate. The inflight crew came in. It was a bunch of very young girls with a lot of exuberance and they had smiling faces. After they boarded, the passenger boarding was announced. The staff actually read the name off the boarding cards and called each passenger by their respective names. We boarded the aircraft. The décor was plush. The Red colour of kingfisher. The employees wear red uniforms and the seats are red too. The kingfisher first is quite plush(they also have a separate bus to transfer the first class passengers… which gives them that much needed edge…. As that makes a first class passenger feel that he’s getting his moneys worth… with this little extra service.) the economy seats are fitted with monitors where you can choose the channel you want to watch. What I liked was that they call their passengers “guest”. They welcome their guests with welcome pouches(they have their schedule in there… good marketing) and soft drinks. On this short haul(30mins) flight we were served heavy snacks. I was very happy to note that there were no dry sandwiches in sight. The portions were just right. Only thing I missed was nice hot tea/coffee after my meal… but I don’t blame the airline for that cos they didn’t have the time. It was fast service. Also when I asked for a bottle of water atleast 3 hostesses asked me if I had got it. I hope they keep up this kind of service.
Returning from Goa, a kingfisher airlines porter helped us get our baggage to the x-ray and the counter(and actually didn’t stop for a tip). The check in staff told us right away that the flight was delayed by 20mins. Though to give brownie points her Mumbai counter part was better. She didn’t ask us about any change in our seat request or if my mom needed help. The only part where they went wrong was that when the 20mins of delay were up they could have informed that the incoming flight would get in at such and such a time so that passengers can inform the people at their destinations what time they would get in. A couple of announcements would have made a difference.
All in all I had a good trip.