New Delhi, Mar 21 (PTI) The nearly two-year-old Akasa Air plans to start flights to Kuwait, Riyadh and Jeddah by the end of October this year, after launching its maiden overseas services to Doha this month, as the airline is bullish on overseas expansion.
“We are very excited about the potential of international flying… the potential that India offers,” Akasa Air Founder and Chief Executive Officer Vinay Dube told PTI in an interview on Thursday.
The carrier, which has a fleet of 24 Boeing 737 Max aircraft, will be launching its international operations on March 28 with a flight connecting Mumbai and Doha. The service will be operated four times a week.
“We have got traffic rights for Kuwait, Riyadh, Jeddah … all of which we hope to launch by the end of the IATA summer season… beyond that, we have got ambitions to fly all across South East Asia, all across the Indian sub-continent. You will see us accomplish when it comes to international flying, in two years, what probably took airlines 15-20 plus years,” Dube said.
The IATA (International Air Transport Association) summer season is from late March to late October.
In response to a question on the delay in filing the airline’s international flight schedule for the summer schedule, the Akasa Air chief said it cannot file for international flying until approvals are received from the foreign governments concerned.
“That is approval to fly, slot approvals from foreign airports… slot approvals won’t come unless foreign governments provide us with their approvals. Some governments take longer…,” he said.
Riyadh and Jeddah are major cities in Saudi Arabia.
Akasa Air has placed orders for 226 aircraft with Boeing and out of them, 24 have been delivered so far.
To a query about aircraft deliveries, Dube said the airline has stopped giving guidance. “We keep talking to Boeing, we make sure that their deliveries are in line with our expectations,” he said and also emphasised that “we are not tracking market share. We are focused on building an airline that is robust”.
Stressing that Akasa Air is “financially solid,” Dube said the airline aims to be among the world’s top 30 by 2030.
Akasa Air, operated by SNV Aviation Pvt Ltd, started commercial flights from August 7, 2022.
In the summer schedule that spans from March 31 to October 26 this year, the airline will increase its weekly domestic departures by 14.30 per cent to 903. PTI RAM ANZ DRR
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