Akasa Air completes 3 yrs of flying; plans flights to SAARC, Asean regions

Three-year-old Akasa Air on Thursday said it will start flights to the SAARC and Asean regions in the next few years, in addition to leveraging the upcoming Navi Mumbai and Noida International Airports to develop a comprehensive network.

Akasa Air, which commenced operations on August 7, 2022, expects to have more than 30 planes in its fleet by the end of this year and aims for a capacity growth of over 30 per cent in terms of Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs) for the current fiscal ending March 2026.

Currently, the carrier has 30 aircraft.

"The airline will expand its presence in key markets such as Delhi and will leverage the upcoming Navi Mumbai and Noida International Airports to build a comprehensive network. Akasa Air will expand its global footprint with a foray into new regions, including SAARC and ASEAN, over the next few years," the carrier said in a release on Thursday.

Eight countries, including India, are part of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Other countries are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) comprises 10 countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Cambodia.

Currently, the airline flies to five overseas destinations -- Doha (Qatar), Jeddah, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Abu Dhabi (UAE) and Kuwait City (Kuwait). It operates flights to 23 domestic cities.

"In just 36 months, Akasa Air has served over 19 million passengers, with a significant leap of 8 million passengers in just the last 12 months and continues to register industry-leading load factors of over 87 per cent," the release said.

Last financial year, the airline recorded a 49 per cent increase in revenue year-over-year and capacity in terms of ASK grew 48 per cent annually.

Akasa Air Founder and CEO Vinay Dube said it remains firmly anchored to its long-term vision of being among the top 30 airlines globally by the end of this decade.