ADVERTISEMENTs
-10”-x-5.jpg)
India's Akasa Air sees Boeing deliveries picking up in coming years
The airline expects available seat kilometers - a measure of passenger-carrying capacity - to increase by more than 30 percent this fiscal year, on top of 50 percent growth the year before.
-
Reuters - Tue, 22, Jul 2025
- 11:20 EDT
- 7
.JPG)
FILE PHOTO: An Akasa Air passenger aircraft taxis on the tarmac at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, India, May 2, 2023. / REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
India's Akasa Air expects a pick up in plane deliveries from Boeing over the coming years and to reach its target for a fleet of 226 aircraft by 2032, up from 30 currently, chief financial officer Ankur Goel said on July 22.
The airline expects available seat kilometers - a measure of passenger-carrying capacity - to increase by more than 30 percent this fiscal year, on top of 50 percent growth the year before.
Goel did not provide a year-by-year breakdown of deliveries, but said they were expected to increase over the period, in a press briefing in India's capital city.
Earlier this year, Reuters reported that Akasa Air's top executives were privately criticising Boeing for delayed plane deliveries and were scrambling to assuage hundreds of anxious pilots who were idle without work.
The Mumbai-based low-cost airline, which started operations about three years ago, has ordered 226 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. Deliveries have been delayed as the 737 MAX programme faced regulatory scrutiny after a mid-air cabin panel blowout last year and suffered the effects of a seven-week workers' strike.
Goel did not provide profit or revenue data for fiscal year 2024-25. The year before, Akasa's revenue quadrupled to $356 million, but its loss widened to $194 million from $86 million.
Akasa had a domestic market share of 5.3 percent in May, compared with the combined 90 percent-plus commanded by leader IndiGo and Air India Group.
Akasa, started with the backing of the late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, dubbed India's Warren Buffett, went on a hiring spree and began international flights to Qatar and Saudi Arabia within two years of its launch.
Despite challenges, Akasa in February raised an undisclosed amount of new capital from Indian billionaire Azim Premji's investment arm and Jhunjhunwala's family.
Related
.png)
.png)
.png)
.jpeg)
.png)
.png)
.jpeg)
.png)
.jpeg)
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
E Paper
ADVERTISEMENT
.jpg)
Video
Comments
Start the conversation
Become a member of New India Abroad to start commenting.
Sign Up Now
Already have an account? Login