Kingfisher Airlines Chairman, Vijay Mallya, said in an interview with the Financial Times (FT) he was close to sealing a $ 370 million deal with an Indian private investor and a consortium of banks that would save the airline.

Mallya said he was nearing a deal with 14 banks led by State Bank of India that would provide the loss-making carrier with working capital of $ 118 million. He did not name the banks.

Earlier this week, Kingfisher said its net loss for the September quarter doubled but Mallya offered little to revive its finances. It had also said it had been approached by strategic investors.

He added that he was about to conclude a deal with the banks to reduce the interest rate which the airline is currently paying on its $ 1.4 billion debt pile.

Meanwhile, Oneworld is looking forward to welcoming "on board" Kingfisher Airlines in early 2012 despite the Indian carrier's recent troubles, providing it with perhaps the first break of good news in many weeks. 

The three global alliances - Oneworld, Star Allianceand SkyTeam - help member airlines hook-up each other with loads of passengers seeking connecting flights and stuff their planes. Such ventures are known to be profitable in an otherwise harsh market. 

A spokesman for Oneworld, which includes British Airways, Iberia, Cathay Pacific and American Airlines, said Kingfisher is "making excellent progress in its Oneworld implementation programme". He said Oneworld would soon confirm a precise date when Kingfisher would join the club. He was responding to questions posed by ET on unconfirmed reports that Kingfisher's entry had come under a cloud because of the carrier's litany of woes.