India’s Akasa Air CEO hints at airline’s aircraft order size

The CEO of India-based Akasa Air, Vinay Dube, has given further clues regarding the number of planes the airline intends to order.

In an interview with Reuters in February 2023 the Akasa Air boss revealed that he planned to make a “substantial” order before the end of the year without providing any specific details.

However, Dube gave more hints about the exact size of the airline’s aircraft order in a press conference held on Wednesday March 1, 2023.

“By the end of the year, we will place a large order for aircraft. I’m not going to disclose the number, but the order will be in three digits and it will be significant. In the coming year, Akasa is going to hire 300 pilots,” Dube explained.

The CEO also praised the carrier for experiencing growth that “no airline in the history of global aviation in 150 years has seen”.

Currently, the airline has 17 Boeing 737 MAX flying routes, with 72 in total set to arrive by March 2027.

India is currently seeing exponential growth in aviation, with Air India announcing eye-watering orders for new planes on February 14, 2023.

The airline confirmed that it placed a 250-strong order with Airbus and an even larger order with Boeing for 290 planes (if all options are included).