On Saturday, September 10, Akasa Air, a brand-new airline in India, launched its maiden flight from Chennai, the fifth location in its network. As a result, the airline is now able to provide twice-daily flights between Chennai and Bengaluru.
The airline will begin one more daily flight on the Chennai-Mumbai route on September 15 and will add one additional daily flight on the Chennai-Bengaluru route on September 26 as part of its ongoing expansion of its operations out of Chennai. The airline has also introduced a new route that will start operating on September 26 between Chennai and Kochi.
The airline received two aircraft when it first began its commercial operations, and has since received a total of four aircraft. With an emphasis on connectivity between urban areas and tier-2 and tier-3 cities, it will continue to expand its fleet. By the end of March 2023, Akasa Air will reportedly have 18 aircraft in its fleet, and over the following four years, the airline will add another 54 aircraft, bringing its entire fleet size to 72.
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, a stock market investor who passed away on August 14, launched Akasa Air, which began operating commercial flights in August with two Boeing 737 Max aircraft, flying between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Akasa Air was founded by Jhunjhunwala in partnership with former IndiGo CEO Aditya Ghosh and ex-Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dube.
Commenting on the first flight and the new route, Praveen Iyer, Co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer, Akasa Air, said, “We have achieved yet another milestone today with the launch of commercial flights from Chennai, which is the fifth city in our network. From today, we will offer double-daily flights in each direction on this new route. Praveen also added, “The increased capacities across these key focus cities backed by affordable fares will provide our customers many options to choose from while planning their travel. We are delighted to augment our network to meet our commitment of progressively adding more cities along new sectors.”