Billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-Backed Akasa Air Orders 72 Boeing 737s

Billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala.

(Photo: File Photo)

Billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed airline Akasa Air on Tuesday, 16 November, placed an order for 72 Boeing 737 MAX jets, valued at around $9 billion at list prices, Reuters reported.

The order by Akasa Air comes months after air safety regulator allowed the country's airlines to fly the MAX jet, after nearly two and a half years of regulatory grounding.

As the demand for domestic air travel nears pre-pandemic levels, Jhunjhunwala has teamed up with former chief executives of IndiGo and Jet Airways.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Civil Aviation on 11 October had confirmed the provision of a no-objection certificate (NOC) for the operation of Akasa Air.

The order was announced at the Dubai airshow where Akasa Air Chief Executive Vinay Dube was quoted as saying, "We are already witnessing a strong recovery in air travel, and we see decades of growth ahead of us," Reuters reported.

A joint statement by Akasa Air and Boeing said, "Akasa Air's order includes two variants from the 737 MAX family, including the 737-8 and the high-capacity 737-8-200."

Akasa Air plans to offer flights across India starting in the summer of 2022 with an "endeavour to be the nation's most dependable, affordable and greenest airline," Mint reported.

(With inputs from Reuters and Mint.)