Akasa Air gets traffic rights for Riyadh, Jeddah, Doha, Kuwait: CEO Vinay Dube
The Hindu
Akasa Air, in "exciting phase", receives govt approval to operate flights to Riyadh, Jeddah, Doha & Kuwait. Fleet of 20 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, 2 more planes to be inducted by year-end. Triple-digit aircraft order in 75 days. Carried 5.17 lakh passengers in Sept.
Akasa Air, which is in a "very exciting phase", has received approval from the government to operate flights to Riyadh, Jeddah, Doha and Kuwait, and expects to start international services "soon enough", according to its chief Vinay Dube.
Currently, the airline that completed its first year of operations in August, has a fleet of 20 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and 2 more planes are expected to be inducted into its fleet by the end of this year.
Asserting that Akasa Air is in a "growth mode" with strong financials, Mr. Dube said the airline will announce a triple-digit aircraft order in 75 days or by the end of this year.
"We have just been given traffic rights for Riyadh, Jeddah, Doha and Kuwait. The process will take time... we will let the process unfold. We continue to be in a very very exciting phase in our lives now. We are doing strong financially. We have a good cash position," he told PTI in an interview.
The carrier has received approval from the civil aviation ministry for rights to operate flights to Riyadh and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Doha (Qatar), and Kuwait.
Now, the airline will work with the foreign governments concerned for various other approvals to start international operations and that will take some time.
On when the first international flight is likely to commence, the Akasa Air Founder and CEO said it will be a little difficult at this point for the airline to nail down the timeline.
Flight AI177 will depart Bengaluru at 1.05 p.m. and arrive at London Gatwick at 7.05 p.m. (local time). From London Gatwick, flight AI178 will depart at 8.35 p.m. (local time) and arrive in Bengaluru at 10.50 a.m. (next day arrival). From Bengaluru, the flight will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.