Indian carrier Akasa Air has announced its second international route following the successful launch of operations to Doha, Qatar on March 28, 2024.
In a statement on May 13, 2024, Akasa Air confirmed that from July 15, 2024, it will launch daily direct flights between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM) in Mumbai, India (BOM) and King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
From there, Akasa Air will increase the number of flights between the two cities to 12 a week from July 21, 2024, and additionally launch operations between JED and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport (AMD) in Ahmedabad, India, twice a week from July 20, 2024.
“We are thrilled to expand our presence in the Middle East with the addition of Jeddah to our growing network. We are extremely proud to witness our global footprint grow alongside our domestic services, with the addition of our second global destination within a short time,” said Neelu Khatri, Akasa Air Co-Founder and SVP International, Akasa Air.
Khatri added: “Jeddah’s unique character defined by its distinct heritage and prominence as a commercial hub has gained immense popularity amongst Indian travelers in the past few years, driving an exponential surge in the demand for air travel between the two countries.”
Thrilled to introduce Jeddah as our 2nd international destination on the growing Akasa network! Fly non-stop between Mumbai-Jeddah starting 15 July; and Ahmedabad-Jeddah, starting 20 July.
— Akasa Air (@AkasaAir) May 13, 2024
Experience our warm and efficient service, multi-cuisine gourmet meals and comfortable… pic.twitter.com/ZubFOU9LKR
Akasa Air’s first international flight took off in March 2024, after the airline launched commercial services on domestic routes in India on August 7, 2022.
Akasa Air has also been granted traffic rights for two other international destinations namely Kuwait, and Riyadh, and will be rapidly expanding its global presence in the coming months.
“Our strategically designed connections linking Jeddah with two key Indian cities – Mumbai and Ahmedabad will cater to a variety of tourists, fostering bilateral trade and tourism,” said Praveen Iyer, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Akasa Air.
At Wings India 2024, Akasa Air announced an order with Boeing for 150 jets comprising both 737 MAX 10s and 737 MAX 8-200, with all deliveries expected to be completed before 2032.
This was in addition to the outstanding order for 76 737 MAX 8 aircraft that Akasa Air already has in place with Boeing.
The airline currently operates 23 737 MAX aircraft.