Slow & Steady Wins The Race: Akasa Air Continues Growth

India's Akasa Air Boeing 737 MAX.
Photo Credit: Akasa Air.
James Field - Editor in Chief 5 Min Read
5 Min Read

LONDON – Slow & steady wins the race over at Akasa Air as the India-based carrier continues growing at pace, as more Boeing 737 MAXs are delivered.

This piece is going to take a look into India’s latest entrant to the airline market and how they are doing over 200 days since launch.

Without further ado, let’s get into it…

Akasa Air’s Steadied Fleet Growth Since Launch…


India's Akasa Air Boeing 737 MAX.
bfi_watch_ca350, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Since its launch in August 2022, Akasa Air has already received 17 of its 72 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft that they ordered at the Dubai Air Show in November 2021.

At the time, CEO Vinay Dube said the following about the order:

“We are delighted to partner with Boeing for our first airplane order and thank them for their trust and confidence in Akasa Air’s business plan and leadership team.”

“We believe that the new 737 MAX airplane will support our aim of running not just a cost-efficient, reliable, and affordable airline, but also an environmentally friendly company with the youngest and greenest fleet in the Indian skies.”

“India is one of the fastest-growing aviation markets in the world with unparalleled potential.”

“We are already witnessing a strong recovery in air travel, and we see decades of growth ahead of us.”

“Akasa Air’s core purpose is to help power India’s growth engine and democratize air travel by creating an inclusive environment for all Indians regardless of their socio-economic or cultural backgrounds.”

The rest of the orders will be delivered in the coming years, with three more to be delivered this year, so then the carrier can begin international operations due to rules set out by regulators in India.

Akasa Air Set To Order More MAXs?


Among reports from Reuters that Akasa Air is set to place yet another order this year, the Senior Editor at Times of India, Saurabh Sinha, tweeted that this could be as many as 175 more 737 MAXs.

In the context of the Air India order that took place this week, there is a major focus at the moment on the growth of airline fleets in the country as travel demand continues to skyrocket post-COVID.

Movement Numbers Continue Steadily…


India's Akasa Air's movement statistics.
Data provided by RadarBox.com.

Akasa Air, in the space of 200 days, has managed to go from operating one weekly flight, all of the way up to 86 flights per week in its peak thus far.

Below are Akasa Air’s weekly averages from the start of 2023 up to this week:

DateAverage Weekly Movements
January 1-870 movements
January 8-1578 movements
January 15-2281 movements
January 22-2983 movements
January 29-February 586 movements
February 5-1282 movements
February 12-1981 movements

What you can see from the data is that numbers are increasing into the mid-80s in terms of weekly movements and will continue to climb as more flights are added and more aircraft are received.

Overall…


Wing view of the Akasa Air Boeing 737 MAX.
Photo Credit: Gaurav Gowda/AviationSource

It remains clear that Akasa Air is slowly but surely putting pressure on other competitors within the Indian airline space.

Depending on how the next order goes, this will convey a perspective that as the years go on, they will get closer to the competition, being Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet, Go Air, and others in terms of weekly movements.

But for now, all eyes will be on Akasa Air to see where its expansion plan will take them in 2023 and in the rest of the decade as well.

Because, after all, slow and steady wins the race.

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