An airline named after a beer

Some brands carry from one field to another. Sony, for instance, was able to get into PCs because of its reputation in consumer electronics. Virgin records got into airlines.

But would you trust a beer brewer to run an airline? Indian consumers say yes. Kicked off in 2005, Kingfisher Airlines has become one of India's fastest growing airlines. The airline--which is owned by the people who make Kingfisher beer--started flying on May 9, 2005, with a few routes between key Indian cities.

Now it has 108 flights daily, and it recently cut a deal that will allow North American travel agents to access its flight and seat inventory. By the year 2010, Kingfisher Airlines plans to have 69 aircraft in its fleet.

The best part is the motto--Fly the Good Times--done up in that swoopy cursive lettering familiar to all Bud drinkers. Brand Reporter named it the "buzziest" brand of 2005. Every third beer sold in India is a Kingfisher, by the way.

Kingfisher Beer and Kingfisher Airlines are part of the UB Group, which also makes pharmaceuticals, fertilizers and magazines, among other products, but most have their own brand names and cross-over branding doesn't occur. The pharma division is Sanofi-Aventis. It specializes in cancer drugs, and there's no catchy motto.

India is one of the world's hot flight markets. A few years ago, the number of carriers between Indian cities was limited. Now, you can choose from a host of airlines. The growth in flights has in turn spawned Expedia-like sights such as Cleartrip, which offer last-minute and discount flights and hotels in the country.

While Expedia and other U.S.-based services hawk hotels and domestic flights in India, you can get a lot more information in many instances, particularly for hotels, on Cleartrip. Ram Shriram, who made a pile of money at Netscape and then Google, is an investor in Cleartrip through his firm Sherpalo Ventures.