Akasa Air Begins Operations: First Flight From Mumbai to Ahmedabad Takes Off

Akasa Air, on July 7, received its air operator certificate (AOC) from aviation regulator DGCA.

(Photo: Akasa Air)

Akasa Air, which recently received its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), began commercial operations with its first flight on Sunday, 7 August.

The flight, from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, was inaugurated by Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M Scindia and MoS Vijay Kumar Singh.

The Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-owned airline, which has the airline code QP, is initially offering 28 weekly flights between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. From 13 August, the airline will start operating an additional 28 weekly flights between Bengaluru and Kochi.

The carrier is launching commercial operations with two 737 Max aircraft and will subsequently add planes to its fleet every month, it said.

The lowest fare on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route is Rs 3,948 and the journey will be 1 hour and 20 minutes long. Meanwhile, the lowest fare on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai route on the Akasa Air flight will be Rs 3,906, according to LiveMint.

The Bengaluru-Kochi flight will have a fare of Rs 3,483 and a flight duration of 1 hour and 15 minutes. The return flight fare from Kochi to Bengaluru will cost Rs 3,282.

Praveen Iyer, co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer, Akasa Air, said, "We kick-start operations with flights between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, with the brand-new Boeing 737 Max aircraft."

"We will adopt a phased approach to support our network expansion plans, progressively connecting more cities, as we add two aircraft to our fleet each month, in our first year," he added.