Once the King of Good Times, Kingfisher Airlines has slipped from its throne and is struggling to raise funds to continue its flight operations. The third largest Indian airline, purely by market share, Vijay Mallya-led carrier, today needs help from both investors and the banks to stay viable.

The cash-strapped carrier, owned by the flamboyant tycoon, Vijay Mallya has grounded 15 Aircrafts due to the airline's inability to meet the maintenance and overhaul expenses. The flight operations were already curtailed and were only on limited routes; today's move could further cut down both its domestic and international duties. Last Thursday, around 50 senior and junior pilots left the company to join rival airlines like IndiGo and Jet Airways.

Public sector banks, like State Bank of India (SBI) are working with Kingfisher Airlines to make it viable by extending further loans to the cash-starved airline. The declaration by SBI chairman came as a ray of hope for the investors and the share prices of the company jumped by more than 2 per cent.

Another big news came when the Sahara group announced that it would give the ailing airline a loan of more than USD 47.4 million. The group has already invested USD 100 million in Vijay Mallya's Force India F1 motor racing team.