Continuing the trend of mega orders being placed by Indian airlines including Air India and IndiGo, the country’s newest airline – Akasa Air – added 150 737 MAX aircraft to its already respectable Boeing order book.
Continue reading to learn more.
Akasa Air Orders 150 Boeing 737-8 200 and 737-10 Aircraft
On January 18, 2024, at the WINGS India 2024 event in Hyderabad, Akasa Air and Boeing announced that the former finalized an order for 150 737 MAX aircraft consisting of an unspecified mix of the high-capacity 737-8 variant 737-8 200 and the family’s largest variant, 737-10.
Akasa Air, an all-737 MAX operator, placed two separate orders with Boeing in the past. It first ordered 72 737 MAX aircraft before its launch and added four more 737-8s in June 2023. With that, its total order book consists of 226 737-8s, 737-8 200s, and 737-10s. Of those, 21 737-8s and one 737-8 200 have already been delivered.
The new order means that Akasa Air will consistently be adding new aircraft to its fleet until 2032 when the last of the latest batch is expected to be delivered.
The airline’s 737-8s come in two configurations – one with 189 economy class seats and the other with 12 business class seats and 162 economy class seats for a total of 174. The 737-8 200s can seat 197 passengers in an all-economy class configuration. It is not clear what configuration the Akasa Air 737-10s will be in. All Akasa Air seats are equipped with USB ports.
Akasa Air Plans to Go International
Akasa Air was founded at the end of 2021 and launched operations in August 2022 with a flight from Mumbai to Ahmedabad.
Since then, the airline has expanded its network to include domestic flights to and from 18 different cities including Agartala, Ahmedabad, Ayodhya, Bagdogra, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Port Blair, Pune, and Varanasi.
Now, in addition to expanding its domestic network further, Akasa Air also plans to add international flights. While specific destinations have not been announced yet, the airline plans to take advantage of the growing aviation market in India – expected to become the world’s largest in two or three decades – by launching routes to the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
No clear timeline for Akasa Air’s international expansion has been announced. However, while announcing the order, Vinay Dube, the airline’s founder and CEO, noted “the efficiency and economics of these new airplanes position Akasa to launch international routes in the coming months.”
Summary
India’s latest airline – Akasa Air – is in the process of expanding rapidly. With the latest order of 150 737 MAX aircraft, it plans to have a fleet of 226 in the next eight years – ten times its current 22-airframes-strong fleet size.
While right now, Akasa Air only operates domestic flights, connecting 18 cities across the entire country, it also plans to take advantage of the market’s growth and expand internationally. The airline has not announced specific destinations yet, but it hinted that the Middle East and Southeast Asia are on its radar.
The timeline for international expansion has not been announced yet either, albeit the airline’s founder and CEO said it would be “in the coming months.”
