Akasaka Air is facing the effects of global supply chain disruptions. While the airline does not expect any delay in deliveries, the shortage of aircraft spares may impact its fleet restructuring for 6-9 months.
“We are facing some global supply chain issues that are preventing us from reconfiguring the interiors of these aircraft in a timely manner. We have got some delay in three elements of restructuring,” founder and chief executive Vinay Dubey told reporters on Monday.
The airline is facing difficulties in delivery of seats, USB ports and seat fabric.
The three-month-old airline, with a fleet of seven aircraft in India, operates on nine routes—Pune, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Kochi, Chennai, Delhi, Agartala and Guwahati.
Akasa’s orderbook includes a confirmed order for 72 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, powered by CFM LEAP-1B engines. Dubey said the first 20 aircraft will be brand new, but configured to accommodate 174 seats according to another airline’s specifications, while Aksa requires 189 seats.
However, the airline will not be able to add seats from December due to the shortage.
While it is trying to maintain the timeline for induction of new aircraft in its fleet, from the 9th aircraft till the delivery of the 19th aircraft it will have to accept a different configuration for all the new aircraft. The airline said these 11 Boeing 737 Max aircraft will have 174 economy seats in the front three rows in a 2-2 configuration with more legroom. “Emergency and Front Row, which is our A+ product, is priced at 1,500 a seat and it will be (2-2) A++ and will cost 2,500 seats. “It will be sold as economy and we will only charge for seat selection,” said Praveen Iyer, co-founder and chief commercial officer at Akasa.
The management, however, did not say whether the shortfall would be made up for by the original equipment manufacturers.
Passengers will also notice seat covers on some aircraft, with upholstery different from his signature style, and the lack of USB ports on some seats.
Unlike its rivals, such as Indigo and GoFirst, which are facing operational disruptions due to delays in supply of engines and spare parts, Akasa said it does not expect challenges for the engines.
“Our first 20 aircraft have engines, so we are confident that there will be no issues with the delivery and our first 20 will be unaffected by the delivery. There is no indication or even official communication from Boeing that this is going to affect deliveries from the 21st,” Dubey said.
While the airline has yet to meet its guidance of inducting one plane every two weeks, it says it will have a fleet of 12 by December and 18 by March.
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