According to Reuters, Akasa Air, an Indian low-cost carrier funded by billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, has placed an order for 72 Boeing 737 MAX jets.
This strategy might help the American planemaker reclaim market share in one of the world’s most promising markets.
SNV Aviation, which owns Akasa Air, announced last month that it expects to begin flying next year after receiving preliminary approval from the civil aviation ministry to create the country’s newest ultra-low-cost carrier.
With an “endeavor to be the nation’s most trustworthy, economical, and greenest airline,” Akasa Air wants to offer flights across India starting in the summer of 2022.
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, ex-Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dube, and Aditya Ghosh, former CEO of IndiGo, are all investors in Akasa Air.
The MAX plane was cleared to fly again in August by India’s air safety agency, ending a nearly two-and-a-half-year regulatory halt.
The 737 MAX was banned worldwide in March 2019 following two tragic crashes in five months that killed 346 people, throwing Boeing into a financial crisis that has now been exacerbated by the COVID-19 outbreak.
