Akasa Air to become one of world's top 30 airlines by end of the decade, co-founder and CEO Vinay Dube says

Akasa Air overtook SpiceJet, taking a market share of 5%, adding a record 24 aircraft to its fleet, the fastest any airline has done so in India so far

Akasa Air is set to become one of the top 30 airlines by the turn of this decade, the Economic Times reported, citing a mail by co-founder and CEO Vinay Dube to employees on the second anniversary of the airline. HT couldn't independently verify the information.

An Akasa Air passenger aircraft taxis on the tarmac at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, India, May 2, 2023. (Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters)

The airline commenced operations exactly two years ago, funded by an initial investment round of around $35 million from billionaire stock broker Rakesh Jhunjhunwala as well as from other investors.

It has since, carried more than 11 million passengers to date, currently operating more than 900 weekly flights flying to 22 domestic and five international cities.

“It gives me great satisfaction that our shared vision and collective efforts in the second year of our operations have put us on course to becoming one of the top 30 airlines in the world by the turn of this decade,” Dube wrote in the mail, according to the Economic Times.

Akasa Air overtook SpiceJet, taking a market share of 5%, adding a record 24 aircraft to its fleet, the fastest any airline has done so in India so far.

The airline placed an initial order of 72 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, and added another four later. In January, the airline placed another order for 150 of the same aircraft.

However, Boeing aircraft production has slowed dramatically slowed down due to scrutiny from regulators, other airlines, and lawmakers after an incident in January where a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 while it was mid-air. However, Akasa Air doesn't have this specific model of aircraft.