Popularly known as India's "liquor king", Vijay Mallya, the 49-year-old chairman of Bangalore-based United Breweries (UB), is famous for his racy, party-loving lifestyle. He is also famed for his (not unconnected) skill at managing his relationships with government—a valuable asset in a country where state governments control the taxation and wholesale distribution of alcohol and even, in some cases, its retailing. Now Mr Mallya is putting these skills to work as he launches Kingfisher Airlines-named after UB'S bestselling beer, a global curry-house favourite-not least by hiring government-owned Indian Airlines (IA) to carry out Kingfisher's ground handling and maintenance activities. That has allowed Mr Mallya to get the airline off the ground more quickly and at far less cost than if he had done it alone—a crucial advantage in what, following recent deregulation, has become a highly competitive domestic civil-aviation market. So too is the access he has secured for Kingfisher to IA'S spacious new terminals in Delhi and Mumbai, while passengers of other private airlines, such as Jet Airways and Air Sahara (both of which are said to have good government connections, though Mr Mallya used his better this time) are crowded into old, cramped and unpleasantly hot buildings.
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