Manish Pant
CNN-IBN- Mumbai

Ever missed your flight on account of rush hour traffic? Well, you need not worry anymore. If Kingfisher Airlines has its way, business class passengers in Mumbai and Bangalore could soon be on their way to the airport on a helicopter.

A typical scene on Mumbai roads is where traffic crawls more often than it moves. And even though you might be in a hurry, there's no option but to grin and bear it.

During peak hours getting to the airport from Nariman Point in Mumbai could take the same amount of time as flying from Mumbai to Kolkata "” two hours and 20 minutes.

To tide over this problem Kingfisher Airlines plans to launch helicopter services in Mumbai and Bangalore for its business class, Kingfisher First, passengers.

"The distance and the time taken to the airport sometimes exceeds the flight time. So I think our guests on Kingfisher First, and maybe Kingfisher Class, will also appreciate the helicopter service, which would save a lot of time and hassle. Yes, we're seriously working on that," CEO and Chairman, Kingfisher Airlines, Vijay Mallya said.

The airline is in talks with the Government-owned Pawan Hans and European helicopter maker, Eurocopter.

If it comes through, Kingfisher will initially organise pick-up and drops from Mahalaxmi and Cuffe Parade, Nariman Point, Sassoon Docks and decommissioned aircraft carrier INS Vikrant in South Mumbai.

However, passengers will have to pay 20 to 30 per cent more for this service.

For instance on a Rs 18,000 Mumbai-Delhi Kingfisher First ticket, passengers will have to shell out Rs 4,000-5,000 more.

Major airline systems like American Airlines and Virgin Atlantic have been extending such add on services to their passengers abroad.

With Kingfisher coming up with a similar proposal it looks the market is now ready for it here as well. Or maybe it has more to do with the pathetic condition of roads in two of our most happening metros.