Page 7 - Akasa Air

DGCA says checks of Boeing 737-8 Max planes completed satisfactorily

Aviation regulator DGCA on Monday said the checks of Boeing 737-8 Max planes have been completed satisfactorily. On Saturday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) directed domestic airlines to immediately carry out inspection of emergency exits of all Boeing 737-8 Max planes in their fleets as an "abundant precautionary measure" in the wake of the Alaska Airlines incident. "These checks have been satisfactorily performed on the fleet of operational fleet of Boeing B737-8 Max aircraft by Air India Express (4), Spicejet (8) and Akasa (20)," DGCA said in a statement. Akasa Air fleet includes one B737-8200 aircraft which has a mid-cabin door on which the operational check has also been completed satisfactorily, it added. On January 5, Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft was involved in an incident of an in-flight departure of a mid-cabin door plug which resulted in rapid decompression of the airplane.

No adverse findings in Boeing 737 Max planes, says Akasa post-inspection

Akasa Air on Monday said it has completed a thorough inspection of its entire fleet of in-service Boeing 737 Max planes and that there are no adverse findings. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), on January 5, directed domestic airlines to immediately carry out inspection of emergency exits of all Boeing 737-8 Max planes in their fleets as an "abundant precautionary measure" in the wake of the Alaska Airlines incident. On January 4, an Alaska Airlines plane's outer section, including a window, fell off mid-air and the aircraft involved was Boeing 737-9 Max. In a statement on Monday, Akasa Air said subsequent to the guideline issued by DGCA, it has completed a thorough inspection of its entire fleet of in-service Boeing 737 Max aircraft. "We can confirm that there are no adverse findings. We can also confirm that there was no disruption to our operations during this time," it said. Akasa Air has 22 Max planes in its fleet. Currently, there are more than 40 Boeing 737-

Akasa Air inducts two new Boeing aircraft, total fleet rises to 22

Indian regulations mandate that carriers must have at least 20 aircraft in their fleet to be eligible for international flights

Akasa Air set to close order for 150 Boeing 737 MAX narrowbody planes

Contract negotiations are ongoing and a deal is expected to be announced at Wings India, the country's largest civil aviation event scheduled for Jan. 18-21, said two sources familiar with ongoing ta

Boeing asks airlines to inspect 737 MAX planes for possible loose hardware

Boeing has recommended airlines to conduct an inspection of their B737 Max fleet, after an international operator discovered a bolt with a missing nut while performing routine maintenance. In a statement, Boeing said the issue identified on the particular airplane has been remedied. In India three airlines -- Akasa Air, SpiceJet and Air India Express -- have B737 Max planes in their fleet. Earlier on Thursday, the US aviation regulator, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a statement, saying it was closely monitoring "targetted inspection," of Boeing 737 Max planes for a possible loose bolt in the rudder control system. "The issue identified on the particular airplane has been remedied. Out of an abundance of caution, we are recommending operators inspect their 737 MAX airplanes and inform us of any findings," Boeing said in the statement. The aircraft maker said it has informed the FAA and will continue to keep the regulator aware of the progress. Queries sent to Akasa

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Flights may experience delays: Akasa's travel advisory ahead of WC final

India and Australia will lock horns in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.

Akasa Air waives off handling charges on carriage of musical instruments

Effective since October 10, 2023, passengers will no longer incur handling fees for carrying musical equipment such as guitars, keyboards, violins, or other musical instruments

Stabilising the talent battle

CEOs grappling with talent challenges could draw inspiration from the structured transfer window system used in European football leagues

Chief executives of Air India, Akasa joust over poaching of pilots

The rare verbal and written confrontations between the airlines' chief executives were detailed in the letter, sent by Campbell Wilson of Air India, which is owned by the Tata Group conglomerate

Akasa Air plans to list on bourses by end of the decade: CEO Vinay Dube

India's newest airline Akasa Air, which is set to soon fly on international routes and will be placing a three-digit aircraft order, plans to list on the bourses by the end of the decade, its Chief Executive Officer Vinay Dube told PTI. The 14-month-old Akasa Air, which already operates more than 750 weekly flights across 16 domestic destinations, including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Delhi, is looking at "gathering a little more history" before launching an initial public offering (IPO), he said. The airline plans to start international services by the end of this fiscal and has placed a firm order for 76 Boeing 737 MAX aeroplanes, all of which will join its fleet by mid-2027. Currently, Akasa Air has a fleet of 20 aircraft and is looking to place an order for three-digit aircraft before the end of 2023, he noted. Dube, the founder and CEO, said the airline is already generating free cash from operations and is well-funded for the new aircraft order it is going to place. Abo

Looking at a mix of int'l destinations, not just West Asia: Akasa Air CEO

(Pilot row) one of the things we didn't plan for because it is unimaginable, says Vinay Dube

Airline dead set against no-poaching pact for pilots: Akasa Air CEO

Akasa Air might be slowly coming out of the turbulence caused by sudden pilots' exits but the airline's chief Vinay Dube is "dead set against" the idea of having any kind of no-poaching agreement between airlines, asserting that it will not be right. The airline, which has been flying for more than a year, has more than 450 pilots and the number will go up as it expands the fleet from 20 aircraft now. "We had about 330 pilots in April. Approximately, 40 went away without (serving) notice period or with one day, two days or less than 24 hours. Today, we have little over 450 pilots... between April and today, we have probably added about a third of additional pilots despite a small number leaving," Akasa Air Founder and CEO Vinay Dube told PTI. Following the sudden exit of pilots, many of whom apparently joined another carrier, Akasa Air had to cancel some flights in July and August. The carrier's market share also took a hit due to the cancellations. Also, the airline has initiated

Akasa cancels flights from Bengaluru, airline says network 'rationalised'

Akasa Air, which is facing headwinds due to pilot issues, has cancelled some flights from Bengaluru, sources said on Thursday, while the airline stated it has rationalised the network to ensure high operational reliability. Bengaluru is the hub for the carrier, which operates around 700 flights daily. Sources said the airline, which has been flying for more than a year, has cancelled some flights from Bengaluru. However, specific details could not be immediately ascertained. "As we have mentioned before in the July-August 2023 timeframe, when a small set of pilots abandoned their duties and left the organisation without serving their mandatory contractual notice period, we were forced to cancel a number of flights. "Since then, we have rationalised our network to ensure that we offer our customers the highest levels of operational reliability, as we did for the first 11 months of our operation," an Akasa Air spokesperson said in a statement. The airline flies to 16 cities. Accord

On-time performance of all Indian carriers falls in September, shows data

An airline executive mentioned that key cities like Delhi and Mumbai experienced heavy rainfall on certain days in September, compelling the airlines to either cancel or postpone flights

Pilot exodus: Akasa stops flights on 8 routes, reduces service on 10 others

The airline's spokesperson said that the airline is poised to take delivery of additional aircraft from Boeing in the remainder of 2023-24

Bomb threat triggers emergency landing of Akasa flight in Varanasi

The aircraft landed on a separate runway and passengers were disembarked immediately. CISF personnel conducted a thorough search of the plane for about an hour. Nothing was found during checking

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Bomb threat: Akasa Air plane makes emergency landing at Varanasi airport

An Akasa aircraft from Mumbai with 166 people onboard made an emergency landing at Varanasi airport on Friday after the airline received a bomb threat message on social media, according to an airline spokesperson. The airline said the captain of the flight QP 1498 received an "emergency alert" from the Varanasi Air Traffic Controller and followed all required emergency procedures and landed the plane safely at Varanasi. "At 1130 am, Akasa Air got a bomb threat message on social media. We informed the local police in Mumbai and initiated the procedure for filing an FIR," the spokesperson said. Subsequently, the emergency response mechanism was put in place and as part of the security protocol, the airline informed all the 16 airports from where it operates about the bomb threat and put them on alert, the spokesperson said. The spokesperson said the threat was later categorised as "non-specific". According to the airline, there were 166 people onboard, including 159 passengers, 1 .

Air India crafts action plan to resolve spectrum of pilot concerns

In light of pilots identifying errors in flight plans, the airline will randomly scrutinise five per cent of dispatched flight plans for enhanced oversight