Akasa Air To Place 'Three-Digits' Aircraft Order By 2023 End; Aims To Begin International Flights Soon

In the next financial year, Akasa Air aims to add another 9 planes to its fleet, taking the total size to 28 as part of its expansion plan to increase the number of flights it operates every day.

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Akasa Air intends to add roughly 1,000 new employees by the end of March 2024, bringing the overall number of employees to more than 3,000. The airline, which began operations a little more than seven months ago, also intends to launch worldwide operations by the end of this year, though the potential international locations are still being decided.

In an interview, Dube, the founder, and CEO of Akasa Air, said the airline will place a "three-digit aircraft order" by the end of this year. It has placed an order for 72 Boeing 737 Max aircraft, and 19 of them are already in its fleet. The 20th aircraft will be inducted in April, following which it will also be eligible to fly overseas. In the next financial year, the carrier aims to add another 9 planes to its fleet, taking the total size to 28. Currently, it operates 110 flights every day.

"We have more than 2,000 employees today, and by the end of the next fiscal, we will be probably around 3,000 plus employees... (out of them, there are) around 1,100 pilots and flight attendants," Dube said in the interview earlier this week in the national capital. According to him, hiring is always done in advance.

"We may not have the aircraft today, but we will have to hire for the aircraft that will be there three months down the road. People have to come, and they have to be trained. So, you always hire in advance for the number of aircraft you have deliveries for," he noted.

On whether hiring people is a challenge post the coronavirus pandemic, Dube said the airline is fortunate to be able to attract good talent. "We just need to continue to be employee-focused. I think we will continue to be able to attract good talent."

The delivery of all 72 Boeing aircraft on order is expected to be completed by early 2027. Without elaborating on the expected "three-digit aircraft order", Dube said, "we have to wait and see".

"We are already flying 110 flights a day and we will be 150 flights per day by the end of the summer season. It will be continued growth but not growth for the sake of growth."

"We have no market share targets, not chasing any position in aviation, and we have got a target to make customers happy, a target to make our employees happy. That is what we are doing and we can do that, that is sustainable if we have got a very strong cost structure. So, those are the three pillars we are focusing on," he said. About planned international operations, Dube said there is nothing to share for now as the airline is yet to decide on the possible destinations.

"We are working with the ministry on the routes and traffic rights that are available... We may want to fly to X cities, and there may be traffic rights available for that country, but in that particular airport, you may not have slots. All these permutations and combinations are being worked on right now.

"Therefore, I can't even tell you whether it is going to be east or west, and I can't even narrow it down because we are looking at both," he said. Akasa Air, which describes itself as the country's newest and most dependable airline, started operations on August 7, 2022.

"I am extremely happy," Dube said about the achievement of the airline, which currently operates 110 daily flights to 17 domestic destinations. In February, Akasa Air flew 3.61 lakh passengers, and its domestic market share stood at 3 percent, while On-Time Performance (OTP) was 87 percent, as per the latest official data.

With PTI Inputs