New Delhi :Akasha Air is a long-term investment for Rare Ventures and the Rakesh Jhunjhunwala family, said Vinay Dubey, the airline’s founder and chief executive officer, pointing to the long investment horizons of the late legendary investor.
Aakash Air is a long-term investment for Rare Ventures and the Rakesh Jhunjhunwala family, said Vinay Dubey, the airline’s founder and chief executive officer, pointing to the long investment horizons of the late legendary investor.
“If you look at Rakesh’s average holding time, I believe you will see that the average holding time from his equity investments is more than nine years. Whatever talks (about diluting stake) are not commensurate with Rakesh’s decades of investment. Aakash was the last of Rakesh’s investments and one of the things he had the greatest emotional attachment to, Dubey said, dismissing speculation that Jhunjhunwala would exit the airline earlier than the family expected after his death last year.
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“If you look at Rakesh’s average holding time, I believe you will see that the average holding time from his equity investments is more than nine years. Whatever talks (about diluting stake) are not commensurate with Rakesh’s decades of investment. Aakash was the last of Rakesh’s investments and one of the things he had the greatest emotional attachment to, Dubey said, dismissing speculation that Jhunjhunwala would exit the airline earlier than the family expected after his death last year.
“There is no truth to that… You can ask rare people; You don’t have to ask me, they will say the same,” added Dubey. Rare Ventures is the investment arm of the Jhunjhunwala family.
A message sent to Utpal Sheth, senior partner and CEO, Rare Enterprises, remained unanswered till press time.
India’s youngest airline, Akasha Air, which flew its maiden flight from Mumbai to Ahmedabad on August 7, currently has a 4.8% share in domestic aviation. The airline currently has 19 aircraft and plans to add 20 aircraft soon. It has ordered 76 aircraft, including 23 Boeing 737-8s and 53 Boeing 737-8-200s, which will be its first 200-seat aircraft. The airline ordered four Boeing 737-8 MAXs out of 76 planes at the Paris Air Show last month.
“Looking at the start of international operations later this year, we thought we wanted to create a sub-fleet aircraft that truly has best-in-class range and is uniquely capable of the Boeing 737-8. Fly hundreds of nautical miles longer than the B737-8-200. So, that is the reason for ordering these four to give us the international capability of a best-in-class range,” Dube said.
The airline is looking to start international operations by the end of 2023 and is evaluating the Gulf region including Singapore, the Middle East, Dammam, Qatar and Oman as possible destinations, Mint reported in March, citing chief commercial officer Praveen Iyer. Four aircraft ordered at the Paris Air Show are set to be delivered this year, and the airline plans to deploy them on overseas routes.
As per the Civil Aviation Rules of India, an airline can start international services with 20 aircraft. It is also likely to become one of the fastest in the world, adding 20 aircraft after it begins operations in August 2022.
“We are excited about international operations. Domestically, our focus is on metro to non-metro cities. Later this year, we will add more domestically, add some depth and some new routes,” Dube said. The airline aims to reach a fleet size of 26-27 aircraft by March 2024 and aim to add more. About 15 aircraft every year until 2027. Going forward, a “triple-digit” figure by year-end The airline is preparing to order the aircraft.
“We are a well-capitalized airline; Our airline is good enough to buy 72 aircraft, our airline is good enough to buy four additional aircraft, our airline is good enough to place a triple-digit aircraft order before the end of this year, so I will tell you that we are grateful. It’s in good shape,” said Dubey.
Akasha Air is looking to order another batch of narrow body aircraft, he said.
“We’re not looking at widebodies and turboprops,” he said.
With 200 weekly departures, Akasha Air now connects Mumbai to a dozen domestic destinations including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Lucknow, Goa, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Varanasi, Bagdogra, Kochi and Guwahati.