Kingfisher Airlines mulling Sri Lankan operations

India's private air carrier Kingfisher Airlines is planning to operate flights to four more destinations including Sri Lanka by the year end.

"We would be flying to Bangladesh, Huston and New York by end of August. Sri Lanka has been in the list of Kingfisher's expansion of horizons for a long time," Regional Manager Trade Sales, of the airline, Ritam Saha said here.

Kingfisher, to begin with, hopes to operate three flights a week to the Island country, he said.

Asked if they would look for a partner in Sri Lanka, Saha told the state owned-Newspaper 'Daily News' that Kingfisher would be going on its own.

"Sri Lanka has tremendous growth potential since many Indians travel to the Island nation," Saha said.

Commenting on speculation that the airline was keen to purchase Emirates airline shares he said this was not something in its plans.

"We want to consolidate our Indian operations and moving into another country is not in our agenda right now," the newspaper quoted Saha as saying.

Kingfisher Airlines is part of The UB Group, an Indian conglomerate with diverse interests and a global presence. The UB Group is also a major producer of beverage alcohol (beer and spirits) and is the third largest maker of spirits in the world.

With Kingfisher Airlines acquiring a stake in Air Deccan, the airline covers many segments of air travel from low fares to premium fares and has a large flight network in India.