India’s Akasa Air is gearing up to expand services on routes to key tourism and leisure destinations as the low-cost carrier ramps up its operation to compete with fellow Indian carriers IndiGo, Air India, and Vistara (both of the latter being owned by Tata Group).
Akasa began operating in 2022 and has already established a firm foothold in the Indian marketplace, gaining a solid 4.7% share so far. IndiGo, as the country’s largest carrier controls 61% of the market while Air India has 14.2% The airline currently serves 49 domestic and international destinations.
The Mumbai-based carrier is planning to commence services to Kathmandu in Nepal and Dhaka in Bangladesh, according to Praveen Iyer, the Chief Commercial Officer at Akasa’s parent company, SNV Aviation in an interview with the Indian media. Looking further afield, the airline is also considering commencing services to other leisure destinations across Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand as the company seeks to capitalize on soaring demand for travel by India’s burgeoning middle classes.
Akasa’s strategy to focus on key leisure destinations both domestically and internationally is aimed at tapping into the growing wealth among India’s huge population which is viewed as having one of the highest propensities to travel since the end of the pandemic of any country worldwide. Equally, nearby countries easing visa restrictions for Indian citizens is fueling the soaring demand as people seek to spend their growing disposable income on travel.
As its competitors scale up to meet this surging demand, Akasa is aiming to do likewise. Although the airline has a fleet of just 24 aircraft currently (all Boeing 737 MAX 8s), it also ordered 150 Boeing 737 MAX planes in January 2024, as reported by AeroTime here, taking its outstanding order book to 226 jets in total, with all of the new aircraft scheduled to be delivered from Boeing by 2032.
Additionally, in January 2024, the airline Akasa Air ordered 300 CFM LEAP-1B engines to power the 150 newly purchased Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The deal between CFM International and Akasa Air also included spare engines and a services contract.
As well as adding to its Indian domestic network, Akasa is seeking to expand its international network using its Boeing 737 MAX 8 narrowbodies that can fly routes up to six hours in duration. The carrier has already begun overseas operations with services between Mumbai and Doha starting in March 2024 and adding further services to other Gulf destinations including Jeddah and Abu Dhabi.
In March 2024, Akasa Air secured a long-term Boeing 737 MAX pilot training agreement with CAE in preparation for the huge influx of aircraft into its fleet in the coming years. Using CAE’s expertise and facilities in India, Akasa Air’s future pilots will be trained using CAE’s newest generation of full-motion flight simulators for the next 15 years under the terms of the deal.
