India’s youngest airline Akasa Air is “well on its way to becoming profitable” and is also planning to expand its international route network, co-founder of the airline Aditya Ghosh recently said. According to Ghosh, after less than two years of operation, the airline now employs more than 4,000 people and has a fleet of 24 aircraft.
While speaking with news agency PTI, Ghosh stated that the airline is starting to become more of a consumer narrative in India. “We will increasingly see it as a consumer-focused business where the learnings which are there from ecommerce companies will help us address the needs and behaviour of consumers better in the transportation business,” he said.
Ghosh, who has also been IndiGo’s President and Whole Time Director, among other positions, for ten years until 2018, further said that building a financially sustainable firm is crucial when creating an organisation that prioritises its customers and employees. He highlighted that Akasa Air is headed towards profitability. “I think at Akasa we are on track to profitability. We are steadfastly focused on it. We have seen greater operational reliability, best on time, lowest customer complaints, highest load factors, lowest cancellations,” Ghosh claimed.
Ghosh on the road ahead
The airline currently has a fleet of 24 narrow-body Boeing 737 MAX planes. Further, it will start flights to Jeddah from July 15. It also has traffic rights for Kuwait and Riyadh. Over the next eight years, the airline expects to add more than 200 aircraft to its fleet. It has committed to buying 226 Boeing 737 MAX planes. “We have started flying to Doha, announced flights to Jeddah, we are going to go to more destinations in the Middle East. We will ultimately go to South Asia and Southeast Asia as well, and at the same time, go to Tier 2, 3 and 4 cities in India because there is so much potential there,” Ghosh added.
On whether Akasa Air could have wide-body planes in its fleet, Ghosh said the business model that has consistently done well is the one which stays focused on one type of fleet. With a single type of fleet, he said there will be high asset utilisation and costs are within control but that does not mean there is no market for large full-service carriers. “At Akasa, we are very focused on textbook style, Roger Federer, Rahul Dravid style, boringly consistent. Do the basics, do them right, do them consistently,” he noted.
While stressing that there is enough space for well-run airlines, Ghosh said he thinks Indian aviation is poised at a place where the growth and success of an airline is not predicated on the failure of someone else.
(With inputs from PTI)