Dr. Vijay Mallya, Chairman & CEO, Kingfisher Airlines Limited has said that Kingfisher will immediately reduce airfares across the board as soon as the declared goods classification is approved for Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF). Also, Kingfisher will ensure that there are no loss of jobs.

With a fleet of 85 aircrafts, Kingfisher believes that it should make travel affordable to all Indians from different socio-economic classes.

Mallya was responding to the Finance Minister P Chidambaram's announcement to introduce a bill during the forthcoming Parliament session to bring ATF under the declared goods category.

The declared goods status on ATF would attract a uniform sales tax of 4 percent across the country. ATF is currently taxed between 4-30 percent across the country. Mallya stated, Kingfisher will not hesitate to launch additional flights to towns in rural India, where there is no air connectivity at present despite airport infrastructure being available. All such initiatives will generate additional employment and no job losses.

The airline had posted a net loss of 6.4 billion rupees for the six months to Sept. 30, hurt by high jet fuel costs and low demand. ATF accounts for nearly half of an airline's operating costs. Shares of Kingfisher were up 5.71 percent at 25.15 rupees at the Bombay Stock exchange.