Paytm founder reacts to Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's airlines launch announcement; Read

India's largest digital payment service Paytm’s CEO and founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma on Wednesday reacted to the announcement made by billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala that he was planning to set up a new ultra low-cost airline by the name of ‘Akasa Airlines.’ The 61-year-old billionaire investor had revealed plans of starting his own airlines within the next four years. Responding to the news, Paytm’s boss Sharma on July 28 took to his official Twitter handle to laud Jhunjhunwala’s decision as he wrote, “Akasa Air, India's newest airline by April next year. News of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s latest bet on India's aviation sector,” has earned several ‘applauds’. 

Jhunjhunwala has plans to invest close to $35 million in the aviation industry with his new airlines and expects a no-objection certificate from the aviation ministry within the next 15 days. His planes will operate on 180 passenger capacity, and he plans to launch a total of 70 aircraft, Jhunjhunwala told Bloomberg earlier yesterday. “I’m very, very bullish on India’s aviation sector in terms of demand,” the latter stated, adding that for the culture of the aviation firm to be frugal “you’ve to start off fresh.” The billionaire is looking to launch his ultra-low-cost airline taking a former senior executive of Delta Air Lines Inc. onboard his venture. 

A new 'hope' for dipping aviation market

The multi-million dollar investment comes at a time when the aviation market has seen some airlines collapse in the face of intense fare wars and high costs due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Jhunjhunwala, also known as India's Warren Buffett, is still looking at opportunities to woo flyers with a brand-new carrier offering low fares. While demand for air travel has been hit globally, India's aviation industry is at greater risk of delayed recovery, due to the looming risk of the third COVID-19 wave. Airlines are feeling its impact. Even before the pandemic hit India, popular airlines such as Kingfisher Ltd and Jet Airways Ltd struggled with losses and were forced to close operations in the country. Vistara, which is owned by Singapore Airlines Ltd, is in discussions with Boeing Co. and Airbus SE to delay aircraft deliveries and make changes to the payment timetables. IndiGo, India's largest airline, also reported a heavy loss as COVID-19 lockdown crimped its revenue.