Akasa Air is a long-term bet for Jhunjhunwala family: CEO
NEW DELHI : Akasa Air is a long-term investment for Rare Enterprises and the Rakesh Jhunjhunwala family, the airline’s founder and chief executive officer Vinay Dube said, pointing to the lengthy investment horizons of the late legendary investor. “If you look at Rakesh’s average holding time, I believe you will see the average holding time from his equity investments is over nine years. Whatever chatter (about dilution of stake) is so inconsistent with decades of investment that Rakesh has made.
Akasa was the last of the investments that Rakesh made and one of the things that he had the greatest emotional ties to," Dube said, dismissing speculation that the family may exit the airline earlier than expected after Jhunjhunwala died last year. “There is no truth to that... you can ask the folks at Rare; you don’t even have to ask me, and they will say the same thing," Dube added.
Rare Enterprises is the Jhunjhunwala family’s investment firm. A message sent to Utpal Sheth, senior partner and CEO at Rare Enterprises remained unanswered till press time. Akasa Air, India’s youngest airline which took its first flight from Mumbai to Ahmedabad on 7 August, currently has a 4.8% share in domestic aviation.
The airline currently has 19 aircraft, and plans to add the 20th soon. It has 76 planes on order including 23 Boeing 737-8s and 53 Boeing 737-8-200s, which will be its first 200-seater aircraft. Out of the 76 aircraft, the airline had ordered four Boeing 737-8 Max at the Paris Air Show last month.
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