Akasa Air sees light at end of delivery tunnel as aircraft flows steady, pilot hiring restarts

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: After nearly two years of delivery disruptions, Akasa Air is emerging from aircraft supply constraints, an inflexion point that allows India’s third-largest airline to restart pilot hiring, stick to its original growth plan and avoid costly short-term fixes in a fiercely competitive aviation market. “So I’d say that’s a thing of the past," Vinay Dube, the founder and chief executive officer of Akasa Air, said in an interview with Mint, referring to earlier delays.

“The deliveries are much more predictable, much more frequent." Aircraft deliveries determine pilot hiring, which in turn sets how much capacity an airline can deploy and how efficiently it can spread fixed costs, a chain Akasa says is now moving again. Akasa, which operates an all-Boeing narrow-body fleet, had slowed fleet expansion and paused pilot hiring as aircraft supply tightened, even as demand rebounded across India’s aviation sector. The improved delivery schedule now allows the airline to resume growth without resorting to wet-leasing aircraft or altering its single-type fleet strategy.

Akasa inducted two aircraft in January and one in February. Two more are expected later this month, with another one to two due in March, said Dube. The airline currently operates 33 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, including three added so far in 2026.

Launched in August 2022, Akasa is awaiting completion of its 226-aircraft order with Boeing, underpinning its long-term expansion plans. The stabilization in deliveries coincides with Boeing’s efforts to ramp up narrow-body production. Boeing India and South Asia president Salil Gupte had earlier told Mint that the US aircraft maker was targeting at least two deliveries a