Akasa Air is “well-capitalised” and has the financial means to induct 72 aircraft over the next five years, the airline’s Founder and CEO Vinay Dube said. His comments come on the back of the death of Akasa’s first financial backer and ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, on Sunday.
On Wednesday, in a press statement, Dube said the airline has received its third aircraft and the low-cost carrier will keep adding one new aircraft every two weeks.
Commercial operations
Akasa commenced commercial operations on August 7 with a maiden flight from Mumbai to Ahmedabad. Akasa Air has already announced a total of five routes in five cities, including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Bengaluru and Chennai and would be operating a total of 54 weekly flights.
Jhunjhunwala invested over $35 million for a 40 per cent stake in the airline, Dube said.
Soon after Jhunjhunwala’s demise, multiple reports questioned the fate of Akasa. “Akasa Air is a well-capitalised airline with the financial means to induct 72 aircraft over the next five years. In fact, our financial platform is strong enough to allow Akasa to place an aircraft order in the next 18 months that will be significantly larger than our first. In simple terms, our growth is secure,” Dube said
He further said that Jhunjhunwala supported in recruiting some of the best aviation talent in the country. “He wanted us to have a top-notch leadership team that made all day-to-day decisions at the airline without having to fall back on him or any other investor,” he added.