India’s Akasa Air will place a “substantially” large order for new narrowbody jets this year, as the start-up budget airline looks to capitalize on rising demand at home and launch international flights, its chief executive told Reuters. .
The 200-day-old airline currently flies 17 Boeing 737 Max aircraft out of a total order of 72 jets to be delivered by March 2027.
“Before the end of this year, we are going to place another aircraft order which will be much bigger than the 72 aircraft order we have placed,” Vinay Dubey said during an interview without giving a specific number.
Akasa co-founder, former CEO of bankrupt full-service carrier Jet Airways, said the new order would be for narrow-body aircraft.
Dube did not say whether the order would go to Boeing or Airbus, but the budget carrier typically prefers to use a narrowband type to help control costs.
The order plans come as travel demand in India has seen a sharp rebound following COVID-19, making it the world’s fastest growing aviation market, with capacity surpassing 2019 levels and Passenger numbers are coming closer.
Air India on Tuesday placed an order for 470 jets, the largest by a single airline, as it looks to cash in on the travel boom at home while competing with Gulf rivals such as Emirates for international passenger traffic. wants to rebuild.
According to consultancy CAPA India, Indian airlines are forecast to order 1,500 to 1,700 planes over the next few years, including an order of 500 from rival IndiGo, the country’s largest airline.
Dubey said Akasa will add three aircraft to its fleet to take it to 20 within the next three months, making it eligible to fly to international destinations as per Indian government regulations.
“By the end of the year, we expect to be flying internationally,” he said, with the carrier targeting destinations in South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East within range of the 737 MAX.
Dubey said that in the domestic market, Akasa will focus on its strategy to connect smaller towns with the country’s major metros when demand remains strong despite higher ticket prices.
“Everything is going gangbusters,” he said. “Demand will continue to grow and grow and grow across India.”
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