One slap by his father made this Indian man become owner of Rs 64030000000 business empire, then lost everything due to..., he is now.....
The Kingfisher bird is not just beautiful to look at, it is sharp, swift, and dives from the sky into the water with precision. Much like this bird, Vijay Mallya, famously known as the 'Liquor King' and 'The Man of Good Times,' once flew high with his dream project i.e. Kingfisher Airlines. But just like a sudden dive, his airline crashed from the heights and never managed to rise again. This is the story of Vijay Mallya's rush and mistakes that led to the downfall of his ambitious venture.
There was a time when Mallya was a big name across Bollywood, sports, and the business world. But due to poor decisions and mounting debts, the same name is now associated with the label of a 'fugitive.'
Vijay Mallya's father, Vittal Mallya, was a well-known businessman in the liquor industry. But young Vijay wasn't interested in either studies or business. It took a hard slap from his father to wake him up and that moment changed everything. Eventually, Mallya took over the family's liquor company, United Breweries Group, the maker of Kingfisher beer. The rise of Kingfisher
At a time when most people hesitated to even speak about alcohol openly, Mallya broke all barriers after he started running bold ads on TV and in newspapers. He turned the liquor trade into a glamorous corporate brand. For marketing, he launched the now-iconic Kingfisher calendar featuring top Bollywood models. With catchy tunes like 'Oo La La La Le O…' the Kingfisher brand found a new identity.
Vijay Mallya gave alcohol business a stylish makeover, but the same daring approach led him to take big risks and some that eventually backfired.
For Kingfisher's advertisements, Vijay Mallya brought in big names like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Chris Gayle, having them groove to the catchy 'Oo La La La Le O…' tune. Launch of Kingfisher Airlines
In 2003, Mallya took a bold step into the airline business and officially launched Kingfisher Airlines in 2005. By then, he had become such a big figure that he gifted the airline to his son, Siddharth Mallya, as a birthday present. The airline was part of his liquor empire, United Breweries.
Kingfisher's first flight took off in 2005, operating between Mumbai and Delhi. The airline quickly gained attention for offering unmatched luxury: free meals, comfy seats, onboard entertainment, complimentary beer, and even headphones. Mallya made flying feel like a royal experience. Within just two years, the airline expanded from 4 aircraft to 20 Airbus A320s, covering 26 destinations. At its peak, Kingfisher Airlines had a fleet of 69 aircraft.
Mallya made air travel feel grand and luxurious, treating passengers like royalty. But in trying to treat customers like kings, he ended up mismanaging the business. Some say the real reason he started the airline was to promote his beer brand, Kingfisher, on a global scale. The downfall
Mallya was in a rush to take the airline international, but Indian aviation rules require a minimum of five years of domestic service before an airline can fly abroad. That impatience led to further complications in his business plans.
Vijay Mallya made a huge mistake when he decided to ignore the rules and bought Air Deccan, a low-cost airline, that was already deep in debt and struggling financially. He spent around Rs. 950 crore on the deal. Looking back, this turned out to be one of the worst decisions for both Mallya and Kingfisher.
His plan was to use Air Deccan to attract middle-class flyers and start international flights sooner. He wanted Kingfisher to serve the luxury crowd and Air Deccan, rebranded as Kingfisher Red, to target budget travelers. But things didn't go the way he had imagined.
People who were paying a premium to fly on Kingfisher's luxury flights now had a cheaper option with Kingfisher Red. As a result, Kingfisher's own flights began to fly with empty seats. While earnings dropped, the costs kept rising. Slowly but surely, the airline started sinking into a mountain of debt. Global financial crisis
Then came the global financial crisis of 2008, which made things even worse. Fuel prices shot up, and Kingfisher began cancelling flights. The company had no money left to repay loans or even to pay its staff. What started as a dream of luxury in the skies ended in financial disaster.
Kingfisher's journey in the aviation world was short-lived. The airline never managed to make a profit. Over time, it sank deeper into debt, and Vijay Mallya tried to sell the company but no one was willing to buy it. One major issue was that, at the time, foreign airlines were not allowed to invest in Indian carriers. So there were no takers.
Things got worse, and in October 2012, India's aviation regulator, the DGCA, cancelled Kingfisher's license. A company that was once the country's second-largest airline had completely collapsed. Mallya's lavish lifestyle
Even as his companies were falling apart, Mallya's lavish lifestyle didn't change. While debt kept piling up, he continued hosting grand parties and living in luxury. By 2014, Kingfisher's unpaid loans had crossed Rs. 9,000 crore and were officially declared Non-Performing Assets (NPAs). Eventually, Mallya fled India for the UK, leaving behind a mountain of unpaid loans. Indian banks and agencies began legal proceedings to extradite him.
According to Forbes' 2013 Billionaires List, Mallya was worth about USD 750 million (around Rs. 6,400 crore at the time). But due to poor decisions and a flashy lifestyle, his businesses shut down one after another, his debts kept growing, and his fortune kept shrinking.
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