To tap the travel boom in the country, airline Akasa Air is set to finalise a deal of around 150 Boeing 737 MAX narrowbody planes, reported Reuters citing sources on Tuesday.
The company executives are currently negotiating to strike a favourable deal. The official announcement about the purchase is likely to be made at Wings India, the country’s largest civil aviation event scheduled for Jan. 18-21, reported the news agency citing two sources familiar with the matter.
The new order for around 150 planes is likely to include some future purchasing options, according to the news agency.
Responding to the request to comment on the news, an Akasa spokesperson said that the airline doesn’t comment on speculation. The sources requested to maintain anonymity as the deal is yet to be finalised and the plane order details are confidential.
Earlier, the airline had booked an order for 76 Boeing 737 MAX planes. The newest entrant in the list, Akasa garnered a market share of 4% since it started flying in 2022, against IndiGo’s 60% and Tata Group airlines’ combined 26%.
In December 2023, its Chief Commercial Officer Praveen Iyer told the Indian newspaper Business Line that the airline is planning to announce a three-digit aircraft order in early 2024.
The airline currently operates on domestic routes with a fleet of around two dozen planes. The company faced a huge setback last year when the abrupt departure of about a tenth of its pilots impacted its flight operations.
The new plane order is aimed at boosting Akasa’s domestic and international expansion, reported the news agency citing sources. The new order will also enable the airline to begin operations on foreign destinations like Southeast Asia and the Middle East from India.
Amid the surging demand due to the increase in the number of travelers post-pandemic, Indian carriers are trying their best to keep pace with soaring demand.
In June, Indigo placed a massive order of 500 Airbus narrowbody planes. The order was way more than Air India’s purchase of 470 combined jets from Airbus and Boeing earlier in the year.
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Published: 02 Jan 2024, 10:51 PM IST