Akasa Air sees no dip in passenger demand post Air India plane crash

Akasa Air continues recording “healthy” load factors and traveller confidence as passenger demand remains unaffected since the AI171 crash last month, the firm’s Chief Financial Officer Ankur Goel said on Tuesday.

 

“We really haven’t seen any impact. I see the load factors and they are very healthy,” Goel said at a media roundtable.

 

He added that people are still flying with confidence. “Despite the anguish, we believe the sector is resilient and robust. People are still travelling with a lot of faith and confidence that airlines will do everything possible for them to have a safe experience and travel,” he noted.

 

 

Regarding new investors, Goel said regulatory approvals are in the final stages, adding there is no external borrowing planned.

 

Akasa Air, which began operations in August 2022, had on February 6 announced that it had signed agreements with investors, including Premji Invest, Ranjan Pai's investment office, and 360 One Asset to infuse fresh capital into the airline.

 

Goel dismissed any immediate concerns over delays in Boeing deliveries, saying regular communication with the aircraft maker has kept the airline’s confidence intact.

 

Akasa expects its entire Boeing order of 226 B737 Max planes to be delivered by 2032.

 

From 2027, the airline will also begin receiving the larger Max-10 variant, offering 227 seats compared to the 189 in the Max-8 currently in its fleet.

 

The airline operates 30 aircraft, including 23 Max-8s and seven higher-capacity Max-8-200s. Goel said increasing seat count per aircraft and utilisation were helping drive down unit costs.

 

Aircraft utilisation has risen to over 13 hours per day, compared to 10.5 hours initially. “This was a conscious call. Now, we are using our planes more,” Goel said.

 

The airline is also maintaining a strong pilot pipeline. “All our pilots (770) will start flying by the end of this financial year,” he said.

 

Goel noted that FY25 losses widened due to rapid growth in the network but key financial indicators have improved. “Our Ebitda margin has become better by 50 per cent in FY25,” he said.

 

While overall losses remain, unit revenue (earnings per available seat kilometre) rose 13 per cent and unit cost (cost per available seat kilometre) dropped 8 per cent year-on-year, driven by scale and efficiency, he noted.

 

He also confirmed that Akasa is not rushing to lease older aircraft to bridge capacity. “We see what is financially prudent for us. We wanted to wait for the new Boeing capacity,” Goel explained.

 

Goel said the airline aims to have one-fourth of its total capacity deployed on international routes by the end of FY26.

 

Goel credited the government for supporting airline growth through taxation reliefs given on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services.

 

He said Akasa remains committed to building for the long term, with a clear focus on improving its Rask-Cask differential, strengthening cash reserves, and maintaining capital discipline.