The right bet: Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's dream is set to soar higher
Ryanair, of low cost and sustained profitability, India’s newest airline Akasa Air’s journey to the top of the charts has been rather astounding. The airline, backed by legendary investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, who died soon after the launch of the airline in August 2022, is set to cross a milestone. It will fly beyond the Indian borders from March 28 with its first international flight scheduled to Qatar. Notably, this achievement comes in merely 19 months of its going operational. Akasa was granted the licence to fly internationally by the Ministry of Civil Aviation last year on September 20.
Exiting 2023 with a fleet size of 22 aircraft, including 21 Boeing 737 MAX 8 and one Boeing 737 MAX 8 200, the first of its kind in Asia, Akasa Air is ready for its next phase of growth. It further fuelled its international flying ambitions when in January the new airline welcomed two Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft to its growing fleet.
Since it started flying in 2022, Akasa has garnered a market share of 4 per cent as against another low-cost but much older airline SpiceJet's 5.6%. The Indian aviation market is dominated by IndiGo, which has a nearly 60 per cent market share, and the Tata Group whose airlines have a combined share of nearly 26 per cent.
Vinay Dube’s brainchild
A former American Airlines operations research analyst who also worked with Delta Airlines for more than a decade and helmed two Indian airlines, now grounded: GoAir and Jet Airways, Vinay Dube’s commitment to form Akasa Air was birthed during the
