Akasa Air has taken delivery of five new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft from leasing firm Avolon over the past couple of months. The Indian carrier now operates with 17 737 MAXs and continues to expand its fleet through leasing agreements.
Five more MAXs for Akasa Air
The agreement is Avolon's first sale and leaseback deal with Akasa Air - the five new Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes began arriving at the airline in December 2022, with all five deliveries completed by January 2023.
Paul Geaney, President and Chief Commercial Officer at Avolon, said,
"We are excited to support new entrants to the market, so it is a pleasure to have completed this transaction to lease 5 new narrowbody aircraft to Akasa. We congratulate Akasa on their successful launch and look forward to building on our strong relationship with them."
The majority of Akasa Air's fleet - currently consisting of 17 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft - has been acquired on lease, with the Indian airline also working with global lessors AerCap, ICBC and Griffin Global Asset Management. Since its launch in August, Akasa Air has inducted a new MAX at a rate of around one plane every two weeks and aims to keep this up until its outstanding Boeing 737 MAX orders (55 more to come) have been delivered.
A promising start
With its growing fleet of efficient MAX aircraft, Akasa Air has overseen a smooth entry into the aviation industry after launching operations on August 7th, 2022. Simple Flying explored the first six months at Akasa Air, which has seen the airline rapidly grow to serve 14 destinations with over 575 weekly flights.
Bhavin Joshi, Co-Founder and Senior Vice President of Leasing & Procurement at Akasa Air, added,
"Since our launch last August, we have rapidly added capacity, new routes and welcomed one million passengers to our unique offering. We are delighted to join hands with Avolon and will continue to invest in new technology aircraft that can offer superior reliability and carbon efficiency."
The carrier's growth is set to continue apace, with Akasa Air shooting for 1,000 weekly flights within the next six months, representing almost double its current schedule.
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What next for Akasa Air?
Akasa Air founder and CEO, Vinay Dube, is targeting the second half of 2023 to launch the carrier's first international routes. In fact, the airline will need at least 20 aircraft in its fleet before it can legally operate international services under Indian regulations.
The all-MAX airline placed an order for 72 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft back in November 2021 and has previously intimated it would place another order around 18 months into operations. Whether this will be for the MAX again or for a different aircraft type remains to be seen. CEO Dube added,
"Akasa Air has ambitious growth plans as no other airline in the history of global aviation has put out such a strategic expansion approach."
Have you managed to fly with Akasa Air yet? How did you find the experience onboard one of its Boeing 737 MAX 8s? Let us know your stories in the comments.