Akasa Air 'well capitalised', can grow much faster: CEO Vinay Dube

Akasa Air is "well capitalised" with adequate funds to place a three-digit aircraft order by the end of this year and has the potential to grow at a much faster pace, according to the airline's chief Vinay Dube.

The airline is set to complete one year of flying next month, and in the words of Dube, "we have exceeded our expectations".

Currently, the carrier has 19 aircraft and the 20th aircraft is expected to be inducted this month, which will also make it eligible for international operations.

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Both the placing of a three-digit aircraft order and commencing international operations are expected to happen in 2023.

In an interview with PTI, Dube said the airline is "well capitalised".

"I think we are adequately funded. We were adequately funded to order 72 aircraft. We are adequately funded to add 4 more aircraft on top of that were adequately funded to place another three-digit aircraft order between now and the end of this year," the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Akasa Air said.

He did not divulge any specific financial details.

The airline has placed orders for 76 Boeing aircraft. Last month, the carrier ordered four more planes from Boeing.

At a time when competition is intensifying in the Indian aviation space, with IndiGo and Air India placing huge aircraft orders as well as pursuing aggressive growth plans, Dube asserted that at Akasa Air, nothing is done that is short-term in nature.

About the airline, Dube said, "I don't think, we get caught up in whether we're going to grow a little faster or slow. That's not what we're chasing, we're chasing sustainability, we are chasing the fact that we want to build an airline that will stand the test of time".

On the future trajectory, Dube said that between now and March 2027, "we look like an airline with 76 aircraft, an airline that has a vibrant domestic market, an airline that has multiple international gateways that we fly to, will look like an airline that has the highest levels of customer service".

In May, the carrier had a domestic market share of 4.8 per cent, according to official data.

Noting that the next 20 years are going to be the "golden era of aviation", the Akasa Air chief said there will be around 2,000 aircraft in the next 15 to 20 years and more number of airports in the country.

"We are very, very happy to be at the stage that we are at. So, I think there is a lot of growth coming."

Providing his perspective, Dube said that when people talk about growth and percentages, the mathematician in him comes out.

"And mathematically, when you go from zero aircraft to one aircraft, or one aircraft to two aircraft, the percentages will be naturally higher.

"We have the ability to grow much faster, just by virtue of the fact that we're smaller. That's mathematically the answer," he noted.

Once the airline has 20 planes in its fleet, Akasa Air will be eligible for international operations.

On international operations, Dube said that first the required air traffic rights have to be in place and then slots have to be finalised with the airports where it plans to operate to.

"There's no airline in the history, the 120-year history of global aviation, that has gone from zero to 19 aircraft in the time span that we have gone through. We are very pleased with the progress we have made in the last year," Dube said.

Akasa Air is also ramping up its manpower and expects to have 3,500 people by the end of 2023.

The government is focused on infrastructure development, Dube said and sounded confident that the infrastructure will keep up with the pace of the air travel demand.