Mallya wants state govts to buy seats on each flight

In 2011,Kingfisher had a passenger load factor of 74.5-88.4 per cent. This means about 20 per cent empty seats per month.

While seeking government support for private airlines in distress,Mallya,chairman of the CII national committee on civil aviation,said the practice is common in developed countries. Kingfisher has accumulated losses of over Rs 4,200 crore. It lost its number two position in the domestic market to the five-year old budget carrier,IndiGo,in 2011.

Mallya has also asked for a revision of guidelines under which all airlines have to earmark a share of their seats for services to the North-East and Jammu and Kashmir.