The dilemma of targeting mass and premium consumers

When Vijay Mallya says, “It doesn’t matter whether the brand is called Simplifly Deccan or something else”, he is absolutely right. To the LCC passenger what's important, is low fares and high levels of reliability ( read, arrival, departure timings and a safe airplane).

Unlike what ET says, the issue is not one of branding. Its more of operations administration. Does Kingfisher and Deccan operate in a centralised or decentralised manner? Both have their pros and cons. Sharing competencies is more efficient but raises bureaucratic costs. Operating separately raises costs that could have been shared.

What's to be noted, is the feasible consumer space available to both formats. Especially the LCC one, despite rise in fuel costs raising costs of operation. Both Kingfisher and Deccan deserve to stay. From a branding perspective, the term 'Deccan' must be retained. 'Deccan' almost occupies the generic LCC space in the minds of flyers. Too bad if its forced to go.

My take, if 'Deccan' goes? Big Mistake.

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