New Delhi: Akasa Air on Thursday announced a firm order of 150 Boeing 737 MAX family planes, taking the airline’s total aircraft orders to 226.
The 17-month-old airline currently operates a fleet of 22 of these planes, and will receive deliveries of a total of 204 over the course of eight years.
“The latest order, comprising 737 MAX 10 and 737 MAX 8-200 jets, will provide the airline a steady aircraft delivery stream through 2032, cementing the company’s domestic and international expansion plans,” the airline said in a statement.
The announcement, made at the WINGS 2024 airshow at Hyderabad, follows a total order of 970 planes placed with Boeing and Airbus by India’s two big airlines, Air India and IndiGo, in 2023.
“This large and historic aircraft order puts Akasa on a path of becoming one of the top 30 leading airlines in the world by the turn of this decade. Akasa’s remarkable growth testifies the sheer promise that India holds as an aviation market, and we are thrilled to be a part of this journey,” Vinay Dube, Founder and CEO, Akasa Air said.
He added these additions to the airline’s fleet will help bolster the strength of its operations as it expands its footprint and forays into international skies in “the very near future”.
In 2021, Akasa Air had placed its initial order of 72 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, which was followed up with an order of 4 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in June 2023. This new deal in January 2024 takes the airline’s order book to a total of 226 aircraft.
In a separate press statement, American aircraft maker Boeing said that Akasa Air would leverage the 737 MAX family to expand its domestic and international network in the coming years.
Since launching operations in 2022, the airline has captured approximately 4 percent of India’s domestic market, serving 18 destinations with a fleet of 22 737 MAX jets, it said.
“Both 737 MAX variants will provide Akasa Air with added capacity and range on new and existing routes, while reducing fuel use and carbon emissions by 20 percent compared to older-generation airplanes,” Boeing said.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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