In an exclusive interview with Simple Flying, Akasa Air's Co-Founder and Head of Operations, Neelu Khatri, spoke about the startup carrier's success in the Indian market. The highlight has been carrying over one million revenue passengers in just over six months of operations. These numbers are only going to continue to rise as the carrier inducts more aircraft and adds international destinations to its network by the end of 2023. Watch the interview below!
Busy time
Launching an airline in India is not an easy process, with several regulatory and financial hurdles to cross before taking off. But Akasa has taken all of this head-on, launching operations on August 7th with two Boeing 737 MAX 8s delivered new. In the seven months since then, almost to the day, the carrier has carried over one million revenue passengers, according to Head of Operations Neelu Khatri.
Speaking to Simple Flying, she detailed the experience, saying,
"Converting a business plan into an actual business model has been a lot of hard work but very enriching. Today we have launched operations to more than 14 destinations in India, and we are satisfied. [But] there is no time to sit back and relax. We have done about a million plus revenue passengers in these six months with about 700 weekly flights."
However, this growth is showing no signs of slowing down. Akasa is one of the fastest-growing airlines in the world, with almost two planes joining the fleet every month until now and routes to match. So what's next for the carrier?
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20 planes and then international
The next big target for expansion at Akasa Air is the international market. To do so, the DGCA requires a carrier to operate 20 planes and meet other standards. Usually, this is a process that takes airlines a few years (the government previously needed five years of operations, too), but not for the startup airline. At the time of writing, Akasa boasts a fleet of 19 737 MAX 8s. If the current timeline is anything to go by, the carrier will almost certainly hit 20 jets by the start of the summer.
Until then, the airline is busy growing its network across the country. As noted, Akasa now flies to 14 cities, with Varanasi being the latest to join the network. With a presence in all major hubs and leisure markets, the carrier can now begin challenging existing players with higher frequencies and lower fares.
Surviving in a competitive market
Of course, the low-cost model is nothing novel in India, and airlines have been both successful and unsuccessful for nearly two decades using low fares. However, Akasa is hoping that its culture and passenger experience will set it apart from the competition. As the number of fliers continues to rise in India over the next decade, the carrier is sure that there is a slice of the pie for every player, including itself. And with a 3% market share in under seven months, it may not be wrong about that belief.
For more insights from one of the few female founders in the Indian aviation industry, watch our interview! Let us know what you think in the comments.