Rakesh Jhunjhuwala-backed Akasa Air has shared the first picture of its Boeing 737 Max Plane. Akasa Air is expected to receive its first plane by mid-June and plans to launch its operations in July, after a delay of almost two months. The airlines released the first picture of the Max plane from the Boeing production facility in Portland (USA) as it is ready for delivery. The picture shows that the plane is wearing Orange and Purple livery, which is new for the Indian market.
It would be the lowest-cost airline that will join Indian Airlines in 2022. While Home Ministry has already given the security clearance and AOC license to the Airline, Akasa is yet to apply for the same and can only do so when the air carrier receives the planes from Boeing.
“The airline recently reaffirmed its commitment of being on track to receive its first aircraft in India by mid-June and launch commercial operations in India by July 2022,”, a statement mentioned. Akasa is expecting 18 aircraft to fly by the end of March 2023 across domestic routes in the country, including metro to tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
The airline is backed by Rakesh Jhunjhuwala, an ace investor, and aviation veterans Vinay Dube and Aditya Ghosh and has received the no-objection certification from the Ministry of Civil Aviation in August 2021 to launch commercial flight operations.
The Director-general of Civil Aviation gave the green light to the Boeing 737 Max aircraft in August last year. Akasa signed a deal with Boeing on November 26, 2021, to purchase seventy-two planes. The max aircraft will be powered by the highly fuel-efficient CFM LEAP B engine, said Akasa Air on Monday.
“Providing the lowest seat-mile costs for a single-aisle airplane as well as high dispatch reliability and an enhanced passenger experience, the 737 Max is one of the strategic factors that will give Akasa Air a competitive edge in its dynamic home market,” the company mentioned.
Boeing 737 Max will fuel strong demand for commercial flights. The growing economy and expanding population of India drive the need for an estimated 1,000 new airplanes over the next 20 years, according to the airlines.
