Akasa Air to operate first flight on Aug 7; opens ticket sales

New airline Akasa Air on Friday said it will launch commercial flight operations on August 7 by operating its first service on Mumbai-Ahmedabad route using Boeing 737 Max aircraft.

In a statement, the carrier said it has opened ticket sales on 28 weekly flights it will be operating on Mumbai-Ahmedabad route from August 7, as well as on 28 weekly flights it will operating on Bengaluru-Kochi route from August 13.

The carrier will launch commercial operations with two 737 Max aircraft.

Boeing has delivered one Max plane and the second one's delivery is scheduled to take place later this month.

Praveen Iyer, co-founder and chief commercial officer, Akasa Air, said, "We kickstart operations with flights between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, with the brand-new Boeing 737 Max aircraft."

"We will adopt a phased approach to support our network expansion plans, progressively connecting more cities, as we add two aircraft to our fleet each month, in our first year," he added.

With aviation regulator DGCA giving its green light to Max planes in August 2021, Akasa Air signed a deal with Boeing on November 26 last year to purchase 72 Max aircraft.

The carrier had on July 7, 2022, received its air operator certificate (AOC) from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Akasa Air's aircraft cabin will have "softer seat cushions, spacious leg room and USB ports" for passengers, the statement read.

Iyer said the airline's network strategy is focused on establishing a strong pan-India presence and providing linkages from metro to tier 2 and tier 3 cities across the country.

The airline is backed by ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and aviation veterans Vinay Dube and Aditya Ghosh.

Dube is also the airline's CEO.