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Kingfisher Airlines Appoints 3 Tour Partners For DLF IPL 2009
Cutting Edge, SOTC Sport Abroad & Thomas Cook Create Unique Fan Packages

Mumbai, April 6, 2009: Kingfisher Airlines, India’s market-leading airline and the country’s only Five Star Airline, rated by Skytrax, today announced the appointment of Cutting Edge, SOTC Sport Abroad and Thomas Cook as “Official Tour Partners” for the DLF IPL 2009 to be held in South Africa. As the Official Airline and Travel Partner for the DLF Indian Premier League in Season 2009, Kingfisher Airlines has the exclusive mandate to create tour packages for fans intending to visit South Africa.

As part of this tie-up with Kingfisher Airlines and Kingfisher Holidays, the Official Tour Partners have put together various attractive packages with exclusive offers so that cricket enthusiasts can watch live cricket action and cheer their favourite teams.

Commenting on the appointment of the Tour Partners, Mr. Vikram Malhotra, Vice President-Marketing, Kingfisher Airlines Limited said, “We have tied-up with leading tour partners who are stalwarts in their field and in collaboration with them, we hope to offer integrated packages for cricket fans so that they can sit back and enjoy the cricket action and thrills while our tour partners take care of air travel, hotels, local sightseeing, and match tickets. Our Tour Partners have developed compelling packages that are sure to appeal to fans.”

These special IPL packages are being offered by Kingfisher Holidays in association with Cutting Edge, SOTC Sport Abroad & Thomas Cook.

Mr. Mayank Khandwala, President, Cutting Edge said, “Cutting Edge is excited and privileged to be associated with Kingfisher Holidays/Airlines as the Official Tour Partner, as well as being associated with the biggest cricketing revolution after the success of the inaugural season of the DLF IPL in 2008. South Africa is a great destination for sporting events and with easy accessibility and competitive rates, the DLF IPL Season 2 in South Africa will be an entertaining event to promote with Kingfisher Holidays. With the previous experiences of handling large numbers during the ICC World Cup-2003 as well as ICC World Twenty 20-2007 in South Africa, we are confident of offering our expertise in the Rainbow Nation with support from South African Tourism and South African Airways.”

Mr. P. Srinivas, Sr. Vice President- Special Interest Tours, SOTC Sport Abroad said, “SOTC Sport Abroad is honoured to be associated with Kingfisher Airlines and DLF IPL 2009. It offers attractive well designed packages that promise to be as uniquely remarkable as South Africa itself. Being a specialist in sports tourism, SOTC has a dedicated team of professionals across India who specialise only in sports events. These personnel are trained to understand the requirements and offer innovative suggestions to differentiate your tour from the rest. Our services go beyond the aspects of mere travel and we take care of every single tedious detail.”

Ms. Nalini Gupta, President & Head – Marketing, Thomas Cook India said, “Thomas Cook India is pleased to be declared one of the Official Tour Partners to Kingfisher Airlines for the DLF IPL 2009 in South Africa. I am very excited at this opportunity, particularly since I personally experienced a large movement of cricket enthusiasts from India during the World Cup in 2003. Presently, we are working on very affordable packages largely because we want as many people as possible to have a live experience of the game in the warmth of South African hospitality and beauty.”

Kingfisher Airlines has a long association with a variety of sports at both the domestic and international level including Tennis, Formula 1, Polo and Cricket through the Indian Premier League.

DLF Indian Premier League’s Season 2009 in South African Season will see the eight franchises play a league phase comprising a total of 56 matches to be played on 34 days at eight venues. The eight venues finalised for Season 2009 are Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Pretoria, East London, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein and Kimberley. The league will also feature 22 days of action packed double-headers. The two semi-finals have been scheduled for May 22nd and 23rd at Pretoria and Johannesburg respectively, with the Grand Finals schedule for May 24th at Johannesburg.

Note to Editors:

With a view to ensuring that fans/ consumers (your readers/ viewers) do not fall prey to the usual ambush marketing tactics, we urge you to communicate to your readers/ viewers that they should exercise caution and purchase packages only from an official tour partner, as otherwise, they will not have access to the official match tickets.

About Kingfisher Airlines:

Kingfisher Airlines is India’s first and only 5-Star airline, rated by Skytrax, and the only one to offer a premium first class. Besides being the first and only airline in India to offer in-flight entertainment on every seat, Kingfisher offers LIVE TV with 16 channels of live and exciting content. The airline has received numerous awards for innovation, customer responsiveness and was voted the “Best New Airline of the Year”, within months of its launch. Kingfisher Airlines is a part of the UB Group that is one of India’s largest conglomerates with diverse interests and a global presence. The UB Group is also the largest Indian alcoholic beverages (beer and spirits) company and the third largest drinks group in the world.

Kingfisher Airlines covers all segments of air travel from low fares to premium service and offers most flights by any single airline network in India. With the launch of Mumbai –Solapur sector Kingfisher Airlines will now connect 69 cities with a fleet of 75 aircraft and operate over 400 flights a day.

For Information on Kingfisher Airlines, members of the media may contact:

Shefali Mehta IPAN 98194 10990

[email protected]

Sabina Lama IPAN 98195 92389 [email protected]

About Cutting Edge Events Pvt. Ltd T/A Cutting Edge Travels:

Cutting Edge is an Event and Destination Travel Management Company with a niche in sports tourism and has been successfully operating Sports Tours since 2003 / 04. Cutting Edge has received Official Appointments for several International Sporting Events as Official Travel Agent / Operator. Cutting Edge has a long-standing association with various Sports, especially Cricket. and is an Official Travel Agent for ICC World Cup Events. Our Reputation in the Sports travel Industry distinguishes us from the rest. Longevity in this Business is the direct result of consistently providing exceptional Customer service as evident of high percentage of repeat Clients

For Enquires:

TOLL FREE 1-800-22-2763
Mobile no: +91 99303 60343 / +9122 30281031-32
Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

About SOTC Sport Abroad:

SOTC is a pioneer in all segments, namely Escorted Tours, Free Individual Travel, and Domestic Holidays. SOTC Corporate Tours is the leader in Incentive and Trade Fair tours and conferences with a large spectrum of corporate clients in almost all industry segments. For the sports enthusiast, SOTC Sport Abroad is a one-stop-shop for all his travel arrangements to the desired sport event. SOTC's distribution network comprises over 71 sales outlets and 102 premium travel agents retailing the SOTC range of products across India. Furthermore, SOTC has been voted the Best Outbound Tour Operator for the fifth time in a row at the Galileo Express TravelWorld Awards and was also felicitated with the Business Superbrands IndiaAward 2008.

For Enquires:

Mobile no:

+91 99200 89666 / +91 99200 89555

Email: [email protected]

About Thomas Cook (India) Limited:

Thomas Cook (India) is the only integrated travel and travel related financial services company in India. It offers a broad spectrum of travel and related services such as package tours, currency exchange and travel insurance as well as hotel and flight reservations. Thomas Cook has been present in India for over 127 years and operates over 180 offices at various locations in the country and has operations in Sri Lanka & Mauritius. It employs around 2,500 employees all over. In its initiative to be a ‘One Stop Shop’, the Company offers a range of travel and financial services / products to its customers. Additional information on Thomas Cook (I) Limited is available on the Company website www.thomascook.in

For Enquires:

TOLL FREE 1800 2099 100
Email: [email protected]

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