HYDERABAD: India’s youngest airline
Akasa
Thursday ordered an additional 150
Boeing 737 Max
aircraft worth over $20 billion at list price, making this the first such announcement at an
Indian air show
. With the latest deal, three
desi carriers
— Tata’s Air India,
IndiGo
and Akasa — have ordered 1,120 Boeings and Airbus (including 70 wide body by AI) planes worth $140 billion at list price in the last 11 months (since Feb 14, 2023), putting India upfront in the big league of emerging aviation powerhouses.
Union aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said at the Hyderabad Air Show Thursday: “This (Akasa’s) is the first triple digit aircraft order to be signed in India. (In the last one year) there have been huge orders from Air India and IndiGo… Time is ripe for Airbus and Boeing to set up final assembly lines in India (given the orders from the country).” The over 1,100 aircraft already on order by the three airline will be delivered till the middle of next decade.
The orders in the last 11 months have ended the monopoly enjoyed by Boeing in the wide body space as AI has opted for Airbus twin aisles too. And while Airbus still dominates the narrow body space in India with its best-selling A320 family of planes by a huge margin (thanks largely to IndiGo), the beleaguered B737 Max programme has got significant orders from AI (for AI Express) and Akasa despite the renewed question marks on Boeing’s build quality because of a long waiting period for the A320s.
Akasa, which had started flying in August 2022, had in 2021 placed its initial order of 72 B737 Max which was followed up with an order of another four Max last June. Of these 76, it has already got 22 planes and the remaining 54 are expected by March 2027. Then from mid 2027 till 2032, it will get the 150 mix of 737-10 and 737-8-200 Max ordered now. By 2032 the airline expects to have a fleet of 200-220 planes (as some would be retired by then).
Akasa founder & CEO Vinay Dube said: “This large and historic aircraft order puts Akasa on a path of becoming one of the top 30 leading airlines in the world, by the turn of this decade. Akasa’s remarkable growth testifies the sheer promise that India holds as an aviation market, and we are thrilled to be a part of this journey.”
Dube told TOI the airline will follow the sale and lease back (SLB) model for its aircraft. Despite India being downgraded by international leasing watchdog due to the inability of GoAir lessors to repossess their 50 plus planes since last May, Dube said Akasa is getting “good reception” from the biggest names of the leading industry. Asked about how he intends to fund the fast-growing airline, he said: “We are well capitalised and had enough capital for a triple-digit aircraft order. We are financially strong.”
Big orders in last one year:
January 2024:
Akasa orders 150 Boeing 737 Max
worth over $20 billion at list price
June 2023: IndiGo orders 500 A320 family planes worth $ 50 billion
February 2023: Air India orders 400 single aisles and 70 wide bodies (470 in all) from Airbus & Boeing worth $70 billion. AI has options and purchase rights for another 370 over the next decade, meaning it can convert these to firm orders if it chooses to do so
Previous big orders from airlines still flying:
June 2005: IndiGo first order of 100 A320s. IndiGo started flying in August 2006
January 2011: IndiGo orders 180 A320s
August 2015: IndiGo orders 250 A320s
October 2019: IndiGo orders 300 A320 family planes
(IndiGo has ordered a total of 1,330 planes ordered in 18 years)
Erstwhile Air India and Indian Airlines had ordered 50 wide body (all Boeings) and 61 narrow body (Airbus & Boeing) in 2005. These two are now a merged AI under Tatas.
English (US) ·