Vijay Mallya brings Kingfisher to town

Alistair Darling may think that the economy is shot to pieces, but try telling that to India’s most flamboyant tycoon and billionaire Vijay Mallya (pictured), whose Kingfisher Airlines will, from tomorrow, begin operating daily fights to Bangalore in direct defiance of the credit crunch and aviation fuel prices.

Mallya, who made his name as the chairman of Indian alcohol giant United Breweries and who also owns India’s first Formula One team, Force India, launched the service today with the claim that his airline’s business class service is superior to Virgin and BA. Speaking at Heathrow today, he said: "We’re Harrods in the sky and, economic downturn or not, people with money to spend will still spend it at Harrods."

Since launching his airline in 2005, Mallya has attracted controversy, never more so than when he announced that he would call Kingfisher's flight attendants "flying models" and promised to hold in-flight beauty pageants, a move that disgusted Indian feminist groups.

Meanwhile, Virgin’s Sir Richard Branson seems in an equally bullish mood, claiming that he intends to build up a consortium of airlines and outside investors to launch a £2bn bid to take control of Gatwick.