Indian carrier Kingfisher Airlines made all kinds of headlines during its turbulent nine-year history, which ran from its foundation in 2003 to its suspension in 2012. Nevertheless, Kingfisher existed long enough to establish long-haul flights and had big plans to expand its widebody fleet. However, its long-haul ambitions were never realized, as the airline folded before it could begin operating new widebody types. As such, Kingfisher only managed to fly the A330 but could have flown bigger aircraft if things had turned out differently.

Successful deliveries

Five years after the carrier's formation, Kingfisher Airlines commenced long-haul services in September when it opened a route to the UK's London Heathrow Airport (LHR). It operated these flights using the Airbus A330-200, with ATDB.aero showing that five of these twin-engine widebodies graced Kingfisher's fleet.

All of these twin-aisle European airliners came to the carrier in time for the London launch, with the first arrival being VT-VJK in June 2008. Just two-and-a-half months later, in late August that year, VT-VJN became Kingfisher's fifth and final A330-200 delivery (and the third within a week). All five were brand-new aircraft.

While Kingfisher ceased flying in October 2012, one (VT-VJO) had already left the carrier slightly beforehand in 2011. Interestingly, this is the only one of Kingfisher's former A330s that remains active today, flying for Gullivair as 9H-HFJ with Hi Fly Malta. But what exactly has happened to the defunct Indian carrier's other four A330s, which left in 2012?

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The fates of Kingfisher's A330s

As for the Airbus A330-200s that left Kingfisher Airlines in 2012, ATDB's data lists one as having already been scrapped. Registered as VT-VJN, this twinjet departed the Indian carried in March 2012 before being picked up by Nigeria's Arik Air the following October. Following a canceled acquisition by National Airlines, it was scrapped in Lourdes, France, in 2021.

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Another jet, VT-VJL, suffered a similar fate, having had a near-identical career path to VT-VJN after it was scrapped in Lourdes in 2022. The aircraft formerly registered as VT-VJK now flies under Hi Fly Malta under the registration 9H-HFK, while VT-VJP has been in storage in Teruel for almost two years, having last operated commercial flights with Russian carrier I-Fly as EI-GCU in February 2022.

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The widebodies that never were

There were also several Airbus widebody airframes that Kingfisher Airlines had orders for but never received. As pictured below, one such model was the A340-500, of which it initially ordered five for its planned Bangalore-San Francisco route. However, this never came to fruition, and the five planes ended up with Azerbaijan Airlines (two), Springjet (two), and the Tunisian Government (one).

Kingfisher is also famously an example of an aspiring Airbus A380 operator that never was. The carrier also ordered five of these quadjets (due for delivery in 2011 and 2012), but its struggles prevented it from taking the orders up. ATDB's data lists five A350-800s as having been ordered by Kingfisher, but this short-fuselage variant of the XWB family ultimately never reached production.

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What do you make of Kingfisher Airlines' widebody fleet? Did you ever fly on one of its Airbus A330s? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!