Akasa Air's Plan to Expand Beyond India

13.05.2024 - 03:25 / skift.com / Peden Doma Bhutia / Akasa Air

India’s newest airline, Akasa Air, made its international debut in Doha, Qatar in March — just 19 months after its launch.

Akasa has also been granted traffic rights for three other international destinations: Kuwait, Jeddah and Riyadh. And co-founder and chief commercial officer Praveen Iyer told Skift the airline would be rapidly expanding its global footprint.

Since its launch in August 2022, Akasa Air has flown 7.75 million passengers connecting 21 cities. The airline had a domestic market share of 4.1% in 2023.

In an interview with Skift, Iyer shared insights into the airline’s future plans.

The decision to debut internationally in Doha, Qatar, was not arbitrary, Iyer said. “We had been granted flying rights to Qatar, a couple of points in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Each of these countries are constrained for capacity, and were therefore interesting markets.”

With a focus on capacity-constrained markets and robust traffic flows between India and the Gulf, Doha emerged as a prime choice for Akasa’s international expansion.

“We just saw value in utilizing our assets with Qatar and that’s what prompted us to start operations in this route,” said Iyer.

Iyer further said that the traffic flows between India and the Middle East will only grow with each passing year: “No wonder airlines have been requesting for bilaterals to be expanded,” he said.

When it comes to selecting future routes, Akasa will prioritize factors such as aircraft capabilities, capacity constraints, bilateral availability and network connectivity, according to Iyer.

With a fleet capable of flying within a six-hour radius of India, Akasa eyes potential routes across the Gulf, Southeast Asia, Far East, points of East Africa. Moreover, the airline strategically deploys its assets from key metropolitan cities in India, like Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru, to cater to diverse market demands.

“We have 26 departures out of Mumbai, close to 13 departures out of Delhi and around 25 departures from Bengaluru. We deploy our assets based on the connectivity available from each of these points,” he said.

After Doha, Akasa now looks to introduce flights to Jeddah and Riyadh as well as Kuwait. “It’s a matter of time before we make these announcements, as well,” Iyer said.

Despite industry-wide production challenges, Akasa remains optimistic about its fleet expansion and international operations.

Iyer emphasized a planned delivery schedule aligned with the airline’s growth. While acknowledging occasional deviations from the plan, he said, “I’m a big fan of the T 20 format in cricket, but running an airline is more like a Test match.”

Akasa has placed an order of 226 planes with Boeing, of which 24 have been delivered. The delivery of the remaining 202