Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Akasa Air reveals first pictures
What's the story
Akasa Air, backed by stock market maverick Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, released pictures of its first aircraft on Monday. The airline, set to launch operations in July, shared pictures of its first Boeing 737 Max plane from the production facility at Portland in the US. Taking to Twitter, it attached a picture of the aircraft with the caption: "Can't keep calm! Say hi to our QP-pie!"
Context
Why does this story matter?
The Mumbai-based airline, registered as SNV Aviation, received the mandatory no-objection certificate from the civil aviation ministry in October to start commercial flights. The pictures from its official Twitter handle lay to rest speculations of a delayed launch. Some reports had mentioned that the airline was yet to receive its first aircraft and that could force it to defer service commencement.
18 aircraft
Akasa Air to launch commercial operations by July
In a statement, Akasa Air had recently said that it would receive its first aircraft in India by mid-June and launch commercial operations in India by July 2022. It also plans to fly 18 aircraft by the end of March 2023 across domestic routes in the country, focusing on the metros to tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Its carrier code would be 'QP,' it said.
Twitter Post
Check out the first pictures
Coming soon to Your Sky! ✈️#AvGeek pic.twitter.com/nPpR3FMpvg
— Akasa Air (@AkasaAir) May 23, 2022
Twitter Post
Carrier code "QP"
Can’t keep calm! Say hi to our QP-pie! 😍#AvGeek pic.twitter.com/sT8YkxcDCV
— Akasa Air (@AkasaAir) May 23, 2022
Twitter Post
Another picture
What do YAA think? 😎#AvGeek pic.twitter.com/AA7hMG86p3
— Akasa Air (@AkasaAir) May 23, 2022
Backgound
Jhunjhunwala teamed up with Aditya Ghosh and Vinay Dube
Jhunjhunwala teamed up with the former CEO of IndiGo, Aditya Ghosh, and the former CEO of Jet Airways, Vinay Dube to launch Akasa Air with an aim to tap into the domestic low-cost air travel industry. The airline would also need to conduct a set of proving flights before it gets an Air Operator Certificate, which is the final regulatory approval before beginning services.
Dubai Air Show
$9 billion purchase agreement with Boeing
At the 2021 Dubai Air Show, the company ordered 72 Boeing 737 Max aircraft for nearly $9 billion. The low-cost carrier ordered two variants from the 737 Max family--the 737-8 and the high-capacity 737-8-200. It also made a purchase agreement with CFM LEAP-1B engines, which was valued at nearly $4.5 billion, including spare engines and long-term services agreement.