NEW DELHI: Akasa is “on course to becoming one of the top 30 airlines in the world by the turn of this decade,” founder-CEO Vinay Dube told employees in a mail on Wednesday when the airline turned two.
Despite facing uncertainty over aircraft deliveries from embattled Boeing, Dube assured employees that “we are poised to grow faster than many thought possible” and that Akasa is the “only Indian airline in history to reach a firm book order of this size (226 MAX) within 17 months of commencing operations….Laying the foundation for unprecedented growth.”
Dube had a Town Hall with the pilots on Wednesday. The airline has just under 800 pilots with a current fleet size of 24 planes. Boeing delivered the last MAX to the airline this Feb. Pilots are getting increasingly concerned over slow training and very low flying that has affected their pay cheques. During Wednesday’s Town Hall, some pilots raised this issue with the founder-CEO. Akasa is seeing at what rate is Boeing able to deliver the ordered planes and will accordingly decide on looking at alternates.
Funded by late big bull Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Akasa has its first flight from Mumbai to Ahmedabad on Aug 7, 2022. The airline says it has flown over 1.1 crore passengers since then. “Akasa Air has registered triple-digit growth and continues to be the fastest-growing airline in global aviation history,” it said in a statement.
Dube said: “Two years ago, we embarked on a journey with a vision to redefine air travel, and today, I can proudly say that we have successfully delivered on our purpose while upholding our commitment to reliability, service excellence and affordability…. In this past year, we have consistently been India’s leader in on-time performance while registering greater operational reliability, and the lowest customer complaints, and cancellations in the industry. These milestones would not have been possible without the dedication of over 4000 Akasians whose effort and passion have been the driving force behind our collective achievements.”
Currently connecting 22 domestic and five international cities, Akasa now operates over 900 weekly flights.
Despite facing uncertainty over aircraft deliveries from embattled Boeing, Dube assured employees that “we are poised to grow faster than many thought possible” and that Akasa is the “only Indian airline in history to reach a firm book order of this size (226 MAX) within 17 months of commencing operations….Laying the foundation for unprecedented growth.”
Dube had a Town Hall with the pilots on Wednesday. The airline has just under 800 pilots with a current fleet size of 24 planes. Boeing delivered the last MAX to the airline this Feb. Pilots are getting increasingly concerned over slow training and very low flying that has affected their pay cheques. During Wednesday’s Town Hall, some pilots raised this issue with the founder-CEO. Akasa is seeing at what rate is Boeing able to deliver the ordered planes and will accordingly decide on looking at alternates.
Funded by late big bull Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Akasa has its first flight from Mumbai to Ahmedabad on Aug 7, 2022. The airline says it has flown over 1.1 crore passengers since then. “Akasa Air has registered triple-digit growth and continues to be the fastest-growing airline in global aviation history,” it said in a statement.
Dube said: “Two years ago, we embarked on a journey with a vision to redefine air travel, and today, I can proudly say that we have successfully delivered on our purpose while upholding our commitment to reliability, service excellence and affordability…. In this past year, we have consistently been India’s leader in on-time performance while registering greater operational reliability, and the lowest customer complaints, and cancellations in the industry. These milestones would not have been possible without the dedication of over 4000 Akasians whose effort and passion have been the driving force behind our collective achievements.”
Currently connecting 22 domestic and five international cities, Akasa now operates over 900 weekly flights.