India’s newest airline Akasa Air is rapidly adding to its network, with two new destinations in Northeast India announced recently. The budget carrier began operations last month and is already looking at 300 weekly flights by the end of next month.
Two more cities added
Akasa Air is fast spreading its roots into all corners of the country, with Guwahati as its 7th and Agartala as its 8th destination – both in Northeast India. These new flights will provide one-stop connectivity between Bengaluru and Agartala with no change of aircraft required at Guwahati. To enhance connectivity on existing sectors, the airline has also announced additional daily flights on the Bengaluru-Chennai route, commencing from October 21st, 2022.
Praveen Iyer, Co-Founder, and Chief Commercial Officer at Akasa Air commented,
“We are excited to announce the addition of Agartala and Guwahati as our latest destinations. Guwahati is the gateway to Assam and Agartala is one of the fastest growing cities in the region, and we are pleased to enhance air connectivity to provide a boost to the immense potential of the region’s aviation, industrial, and tourism prospects.”
300 weekly flights
Akasa Air has been rapidly expanding its operations and will be flying along a total of eleven non-stop routes in eight cities – Ahmedabad (AMD), Bengaluru (BLR), Kochi (COK), Chennai (MAA), Mumbai (BOM), Delhi (DEL), Guwahati (GAU), and Agartala (IXA) from October 21st. By the end of the summer schedule, the airline expects to cross the 300 weekly flights mark.
Akasa Air will have more than 300 weekly flights by October end. Photo: Akasa Air
The new flights come just in time for the festive season, which starts in October and is traditionally a busy time for airlines, with plenty of Indians flying home to meet family and friends.
The airline has also announced a special festive menu, keeping in mind the flavors of the east, and will be available until October 31st.
Growth
Akasa started its commercial operations with two aircraft in August and has subsequently received four aircraft to date. It aims to grow its fleet, focusing on key cities and metro to tier 2 & 3 route connectivity.
The carrier plans to increase its fleet size to 18 aircraft by the end of March 2023, and over the next four years, will add 54 additional aircraft, taking its total fleet size to 72 aircraft.
The airline plans to hire several pilots and cabin crew members in the next one year. Photo: Akasa Air
It is also looking to hire around 350 cabin crew and pilots over the next year to meet its expansion plans and recently increased its pilots’ pay by an average of 60%.
At the time of its initial hiring, Akasa paid its 737 pilots 80% more salaries than SpiceJet. But it was still 10% lower than the industry leader IndiGo. But the revised salary structure puts the airline ahead of IndiGo by 8-10%.
As more aircraft join its fleet in the coming months, one can expect Akasa to have a fairly busy winter season.
Have you had a chance to fly Akasa Air yet? Please leave a comment below.
Source: simpleflying.com
