The chairman of India's UB Group, which includes Bangalore-based Kingfisher Airlines and United Breweries, made the winning $1.8 million bid on a number of Mahatma Gandhi's personal items on auction.
Anjali Rao: He's dubbed the "King of Good Times." The billionaire tycoon casts a long shadow in India with high-profile launches and lavish parties. Vijay Mallya inherited an empire of different businesses at the tender age of 27, streamlining the operation and founding the Kingfisher brand. Today, his holding company United Breweries is worth $5 billion.
India's fast-growing airline industry is plagued by decaying infrastructure, frequent delays, and financial losses. Now add one more problem: a pilot shortage.
Not long after Lewis Hamilton enjoyed his second grand prix victory, at Indianapolis, it was announced that Formula One was ending its relationship with the circuit. There will be no United States grand prix in the 2008 season.
Turbulence lies ahead at Air Deccan, India's largest discount airline. Vijay Mallya, the egocentric and charismatic owner of Kingfisher Airlines, who has paid $137 million for a 26 percent stake, thinks he will be in the pilot's seat. But so does G.R. Gopinath, Deccan's founder, who introduced air travel to tens of thousands of new passengers.
The explosive growth of no-frills, low-fare airlines has turned India into one of the world's hottest travel markets. It is also playing havoc with the country's overburdened and under-equipped air...
The golden age of flying with fashionable flight attendants and unrivalled hospitality may be over in some parts of the world, but in India it is only just getting started.
Four years ago, an air ticket for the two-hour flight between New Delhi and the commercial capital of Mumbai cost 5110 rupees (then about $150) on Indian Airlines and Jet Airways.
The chairman of India's UB Group, which includes Bangalore-based Kingfisher Airlines and United Breweries, made the winning $1.8 million bid on a number of Mahatma Gandhi's personal items on auction.
Anjali Rao: He's dubbed the "King of Good Times." The billionaire tycoon casts a long shadow in India with high-profile launches and lavish parties. Vijay Mallya inherited an empire of different businesses at the tender age of 27, streamlining the operation and founding the Kingfisher brand. Today, his holding company United Breweries is worth $5 billion.
India's fast-growing airline industry is plagued by decaying infrastructure, frequent delays, and financial losses. Now add one more problem: a pilot shortage.
Not long after Lewis Hamilton enjoyed his second grand prix victory, at Indianapolis, it was announced that Formula One was ending its relationship with the circuit. There will be no United States grand prix in the 2008 season.
Turbulence lies ahead at Air Deccan, India's largest discount airline. Vijay Mallya, the egocentric and charismatic owner of Kingfisher Airlines, who has paid $137 million for a 26 percent stake, thinks he will be in the pilot's seat. But so does G.R. Gopinath, Deccan's founder, who introduced air travel to tens of thousands of new passengers.
The explosive growth of no-frills, low-fare airlines has turned India into one of the world's hottest travel markets. It is also playing havoc with the country's overburdened and under-equipped air...
The golden age of flying with fashionable flight attendants and unrivalled hospitality may be over in some parts of the world, but in India it is only just getting started.
Four years ago, an air ticket for the two-hour flight between New Delhi and the commercial capital of Mumbai cost 5110 rupees (then about $150) on Indian Airlines and Jet Airways.
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