Kingfisher wants expat cabin crew

New Delhi: Domestic air travellers will now be flown by a set of expatriate commander and co-pilot, but can they be served by foreign cabin crew as well? The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is grappling with this issue ever since Kingfisher submitted a request for hiring airhostesses and stewards from abroad.
“We are still in a dialogue with the airline. Since Kingfisher is currently not flying abroad, it will have to justify its demand,’’ said a senior DGCA official.
‘‘The basic idea is just to provide a world class experience on our flights,’’ one official said.
Sources said Kingfisher could be trying to get some senior foreign cabin crew to train their Indian employees to provide a world class inflight service on the international flights it is hoping to begin soon.
Language could prove to be the biggest barrier for allowing foreign cabin crew on domestic flights. ‘‘…The ‘expensive’ foreign cabin crew may be deployed only in business class where passengers would be fluent in English,’’ said an industry insider.
21/07/07 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India