Late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Akasa Air, the new entrant in the Indian civil aviation sector, has announced that it will purchase four additional Boeing 737-8 jets at the ongoing Paris Air Show.
Earlier in November 2021, Akasa had placed an order for 72 Boeing 737-8 Max family of aircraft at list prices of $9 billion order.
With the order of four additional aircrafts, the Indian carrier’s order book comprises 76 jets, which include 23 737-8s and 53 high-capacity 737-8-200 airplanes.
The Boeing 737 Max airplanes, powered by CFM fuel-efficient, LEAP-1B engines offers excellent economics, reducing fuel use and emissions by 20 per cent compared to the airplanes it replaces.
Moreover, the Boeing 737 is a quieter aircraft, creating a 50 per cent less noise footprint and offering 20 per cent lower airframe maintenance costs.
“As the world’s fastest growing airline, we are excited to add four more Boeing 737-8 airplanes into our fleet, taking our initial order of 72 aircraft up to 76 jets which will be delivered over the next four years.
In addition to supporting our rapid domestic expansion, these airplanes allow us to take full advantage of the category leading 737-8 aircraft with its unparalleled range, as we prepare our foray into international routes,” said Vinay Dube, Founder and CEO, Akasa Air.
Deliveries
Akasa has followed the low-cost carrier model of ordering aircraft in bulk, which gets the customers a significant discount on list prices from OEMs like Boeing.
The airline took delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in Seattle, USA on 16 June 2022 and over the next four years, the airline will get the remaining aircrafts, taking its total fleet size to 76 aircraft.
International Operations
The purchase of four new 737-8s will strengthen Akasa Air’s expansion strategy as they aim to commence international operations by the end of 2023.
Since its first commercial flight on 07 August 2022, Akasa Air has become the fastest-growing airline in the country, operating a fleet of 19 aircraft today. It has served more than 3 million revenue passengers, operating more than 900 weekly flights across 36 unique routes, connecting 17 cities.
The airline plans to make another significant aircraft order for a fleet of aircraft which will be in three digits by the year-end.