Akasa Air, India’s youngest airline, has placed an order for 150 Boeing 737 MAX narrowbody aircraft to expand its operations in the fast-rising Indian aviation industry. The order was announced at the Wings India airshow in Hyderabad.
The current purchase, consisting of 737 MAX 10 and 737 MAX 8-200 planes, will provide the airline with a consistent stream of aircraft deliveries until 2032.
“This massive and historic aircraft order positions Akasa to become one of the world’s top 30 major airlines by the turn of the decade. These additions to our fleet will help us strengthen our operations as we extend our footprint and enter international skies shortly,” said Vinay Dube, Akasa Air’s founder and CEO.
Akasa Air made an initial order for 72 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in 2021, with an additional four Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft delivered in June 2023.
The January 2024 transaction brings the airline’s order book to an outstanding 226 aircraft. Akasa Air presently runs a fleet of 22 aircraft and is scheduled to acquire 204 aircraft over the next eight years.
The airline, co-founded by ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, began operations in August 2022 and has a 4.4% share of the domestic aviation industry, according to statistics from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
Akasa Air intends to launch international operations shortly. In a previous interview with Mint, a top Akasa official said that the airline was examining its worldwide development strategy and was eyeing Singapore, the Middle East, and the Gulf, particularly Dammam, Qatar, and Oman, as potential destinations.
Since its inception, Akasa Air has transported more than 6.3 million passengers. It serves 18 cities in India, including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi, Delhi, Guwahati, Agartala, Pune, Lucknow, Goa, Hyderabad, Varanasi, Bagdogra, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Port Blair, and Ayodhya.
Indian airlines have been in the vanguard of world aviation since 2023, with huge aircraft purchases from IndiGo and Air India. IndiGo, India’s biggest airline, purchased 500 aircraft at the Paris Air Show, while Air India made an order for 470 aircraft in February 2023.
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