Akasa AIR'S ASCENT

IN JUST THREE YEARS, AKASA AIR HAS RISEN TO BECOME INDIA'S THIRD-LARGEST AIRLINE WITH A 5.5% MARKET SHARE. WITH A FRESH $125 MILLION INFUSION AND DISCIPLINED EXECUTION, THE COMPETITION IS TAKING NOTE

- BY K. GIRIPRAKASH

THE BIENNIAL WINGS INDIA aviation show in Hyderabad serves as a showcase for Indian commercial airlines. It provides a good platform for visibility and networking among all stakeholders. In 2024, it went a step further and delivered a surprise.

In the 2024 edition of the event, Akasa Air, a two-year-old start-up, stunned the industry by placing an order for 150 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft worth $20 billion—the largest order ever placed by a fledgling airline in the country. The move propelled the airline—barely out of infancy—into the front ranks of global buyers, marking the level India’s newest carrier had set for itself.

Akasa is perhaps the first airline to be funded by private investment, unlike its predecessors, which relied on bank lending. In its latest round, the airline secured ₹1,200 crore ($125 million) from three new investors—Premji Invest, Claypond Capital, and 360 ONE Asset—alongside existing backers, including the late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s family. Their decision to double down shows a growing conviction that Indian aviation, long seen as a graveyard for airlines, may finally be entering a more sustainable phase.

Passenger traffic rose above pre-pandemic levels in 2023 and has been rising steadily since. Akasa’s launch in 2022 seems to have been timed just right. Its lack of baggage, as was the case with GoAir, which closed operations in 2023, and SpiceJet, hobbled by headwinds, ensured that it had a relatively smooth passage to becoming the third-largest player in a market dominated by the big two—IndiGo and Air India—that command around 90% market share.

The airline’s leadership echoes this optimism. “Aviation here is entering a golden era. While the industry has been perceived as risky in the past, we are now at the forefront of maturity,” aviation veteran Vinay Dubey, the Chief Executive Officer of Akasa Air, tells Business Today.