Akasa Air can induct 72 aircraft in 5 years

New Delhi: New entrant Akasa Air is financially strong enough to place an aircraft order in the 18 next months that will be significantly larger than its first, its founder and CEO Vinay Dube said on Wednesday.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, who along with his family held around a 45 per cent stake in Akasa Air, passed away on Sunday morning. The airline on November 26, 2021, signed its first aircraft deal with Boeing to purchase 72 Max planes.

"Thanks in no small part to Mr. Jhunjhunwala, for which we will always be grateful, Akasa Air is a well-capitalised airline with the financial means to induct 72 aircraft over the next five years," Dube said in his statement. The airline has received three of the aforementioned 72 aircraft till date. "We will continue to grow our fleet by adding one new aircraft every two weeks. While these are gratifying moments in our journey, we at Akasa Air continue to mourn the passing of Mr. Jhunjhunwala," Dube said.

For those at Akasa who got to know him and whose lives he has touched, this is a deep personal loss, the CEO mentioned. Stating that the airline's growth is secure, Dube asserted, "In fact, our financial platform is strong enough to allow Akasa to place an aircraft order in the next 18 months that will be significantly larger than our first."