Akasa Air orders 150 Boeing 737 MAX aircrafts in domestic, global expansion bid
The Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-owned airline announced the three-digit order during WINGS India 2024 in Hyderabad
- Republic Business
- 2 min read
Newer horizons: Mumbai-headquartered Akasa Air has announced an aircraft order of 150 Boeing 737 MAX aircrafts in WINGS India 2024.
The newest entrant in the airline space, Akasa endeavoured on its first flight in 2022. The budget carrier has a market share of four per cent, and is looking to commence international services.
The latest order, comprising 737 MAX 10 and 737 MAX 8-200 jets, will provide the airline a steady aircraft delivery stream through 2032, cementing the company's domestic and international expansion plans, the airline said in a statement.
In 2021, Akasa had ordered 72 Boeing 737 MAX aircrafts, followed by an order of 4 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircrafts in June 2023.
Advertisement
Notably, the 737 MAX 9 aircrafts have been in regulator scrutiny after the Alaska Air cabin door blow-up earlier this year, of the same aircraft in the international fleet in the US.
The announcement bolsters the two-year old airlines’ order book of over 200 aircraft within 17 months of operations. It has also resulted in a notable order for the US-based planemaker Boeing.
Advertisement
Vinay Dube, Founder and CEO of Akasa Air said the large and historic aircraft order puts the airline on a path of becoming one of the top 30 leading airlines in the world, by the turn of this decade.
“These additions to our fleet will help us bolster the strength of our operations as we expand our footprint and foray into international skies in the very near future,“ he added.
The new deal in January this year takes the airline’s order book to 226 aircraft.
Notably, Akasa Air currently operates a fleet of 22 aircraft, fulfilling regulator requirements in India to have atleast 20 aircrafts in their fleet to be eligible for international flights.
Akasa said it will receive deliveries of a total of 204 aircraft over the course of eight years.
Akasa’s competes with the likes of IndiGo, with a market share of 60 per cent, while the Tata Group's airlines have a combined market share of 26 per cent.