'Wasn't Bajaj the founder of Bombay Club?'

If attack is the best form of defence, Vijay Mallya seems to have enough punches in his bag.

His debt woes may continue and losses double, but the King of Good Times was clearly in a defiant mood at a press meet in a packed venue in a suburban hotel in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Media was of course his centre of attraction.

"A lot has been said about Kingfisher. A lot continues to be said and speculated upon.

"I guess you have a job to do. I respect that. I hope you would similarly respect that we, too, have a job to do," Mallya set the tone upfront.

"To write the epitaph of Kingfisher Airlines constantly is not fair."

He sought to clarify all doubts or media queries, but it was quite clear from the onset that the constant comparison with fellow aviation peers had rubbed him the wrong way.

His message was clear: Judge Kingfisher and its peers only on operational parameters.

"In a difficult and tough operating environment, you can also show profits by sale and lease back of planes," he quipped.

His indirect reference to IndiGo, an younger and nimbler rival, which outmanoeuvred many industry heavyweights to emerge as a poster boy with Rs 650 crore (Rs 6.5 billion) in profits last year, was obvious to everybody.

Mallya

was in no mood to spare anyone, not even 'good friend' and fellow industrialist Rahul Bajaj.

Asked about Bajaj's remark that he was against private sector players like Kingfisher receiving government bailouts, Mallya at first was non-committal, but then quipped, "Wasn't he (Bajaj) the founder of the Bombay Club?"

On similar lines, the gloves were off when Mallya made it clear unlike some of his rivals, his business was based on compassion and despite challenging environment, he would not resort to large scale hire and fire.

"A few years ago, an airline had laid off staff. We have not gone that way. We value our employees. We want to protect them."

The reference to Jet Airways couldn't have been clearer.

There were enough provocations, leading questions and cameras scrutinised every move of Mallya. But he refused to concede any ground.

"If Jet is saying our two million frequent fliers are in the process of deserting us and flying Jet, well this is not true," he was emphatic without getting drawn into any controversial remark.

The man is a master of the guessing game. Naturally, he threw a googly when he acknowledged an Indian investor had reached out to him for buying into his airline, but refused to reveal his identity.

"Thus far, and no more," he cut out a reporter, who kept insisting on rephrasing the same query.