MUMBAI, India: After receiving the third plane in its fleet this week, India’s Akasa Air said it would continue adding one new aircraft every two weeks for the next year.
Akasa, the country’s newest budget airline, began its commercial operations on 7th August, performing a maiden flight from the financial capital, Mumbai, to Ahmedabad.
The airline is well-capitalized to add 72 aircraft over the next five years, said founder and chief executive officer Vinay Dube.
“Our financial platform is strong enough to allow Akasa to place an aircraft order in the next 18 months that will be significantly larger than our first,” he added.
Akasa placed an order for 72 Boeing 737 MAX jets in November 2021, and will compete with budget carriers, including IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoFirst.
According to government data, domestic air travel in India recovered sharply in 2022, with airlines flying over 57 million passengers in the first half of the year, up 238 percent from 2021.
